The End of Angkor? The Modification and Re-use of Angkor Wat

Abstract

Angkor Wat, the largest religious monument in the world, was built in the mid 12th century AD and has been continuously occupied ever since. Angkor Wat was the jewel in the crown of Greater Angkor, the capital of the Khmer Empire. Over 800 years have passed since its construction and during this long period the context of Angkor Wat and Greater Angkor has changed significantly. Once the capital of the Khmer Empire, in the 15th and 16th centuries as the apparatus of the state moved to the Southeast, Greater Angkor came to be on the periphery of the Khmer world. In a similar manner, as Khmer society changed, the originally Vaisnavite temple Angkor Wat came to be hallowed by Theravada Buddhist monks. Throughout these political and social changes Angkor Wat itself has changed – the temple features modifications which postdate the original construction phase. The fourth enclosure wall is one such component which has undergone several modifications. The wall, which clearly demonstrates more than one construction phase, is covered in several thousand postholes. The postholes, which are located along the upper part of the inside face and on top of the wall, have never been studied before. This thesis seeks to answer two questions: 1) What was the purpose of the postholes?, and 2) When were the postholes made? To answer these questions the postholes were surveyed. The results of a detailed survey show that the distribution of and relationship between the postholes is consistent over a considerable distance. The relationship between the postholes and the construction phases of the wall establishes a relative chronology. The nature of the modifications to the wall and the location of the postholes indicate that they were supports for the framework of a defensive platform and palisade. The absolute date of these defensive works is as yet unknown, however the likely historical context suggests they were installed sometime between the late 16th century and the early 17th century AD.