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Angkor Wat's Hidden Megacity

Episode 1 of 2

Documentary showing how revolutionary new imaging technology allows archaeologists to construct an accurate picture of the city of Angkor in Cambodia.

A thousand years ago, the Khmer people in Cambodia built a kingdom that stretched a million square kilometres. Its capital was the lost jungle city of Angkor, once the largest city on earth. At the heart of the city was Angkor Wat, a vast temple complex covering an area over four times larger than the Vatican City. Many other huge temples are scattered throughout the city. But little else remains - in the heat of the jungle most of the city has rotted away. The lives of the people who lived there largely remain a mystery.

But now a new scientific project is revealing the lost splendour of Angkor and shedding new light on its people. Revolutionary new imaging technology is allowing archaeologists to construct an accurate picture of the city of Angkor. It helps reveal how the Khmer went from being a group of subsistence rice farmers to building the greatest ever empire in south east Asia. And it also helps shed new light on the reasons for Angkor's mysterious collapse.

59 minutes

Last on

Tue 26 Jul 2022 13:30

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Music Played

  • 麻豆社 National Orchestra of Wales

    Pet Keepers

  • Alan Ko

    Ling

Credits

Role Contributor
Narrator Sara Mendes da Costa
Expert Jean-Baptiste Chevance
Expert Damian Evans
Expert Julia Esteve
Expert Richard A Engelhardt
Expert Scott Hawken
Expert Mitch Hendrickson
Expert Wayne Johnson
Production Manager Sophie Chapman
Writer Nick Green
Director Nick Green
Producer Nick Green
Executive Producer Chris Granlund
Composer Tim Oliver

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