Research: Water management failure forced Khmer king to move from Koh Ker to Angkor

• 6 November 2019
• Local News
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Researchers have found that water management failure in the ancient Cambodian capital of Koh Ker around the 10^th century caused the Khmer king to relocate the capital from northern Cambodia, according to a report by eurekalert.

The findings came as researchers led by Dr Ian Moffat from Flinders University in Australia used ground penetrating radar to map the surface of a buried spillway in Koh Ker.

By using the radar, the team were able to better understand why the reservoir failed during its first year of use, which led them to believe this could be the reason why the capital was moved.

Based on the study, archaeologists explained that after examining the modelling of the infrastructure it was clear that the 7km long embankment designed to capture water from the Stung Rongea river was inadequate to contain the average water flow in the catchment.

Dr Moffat was quoted by eurekalert as saying “at that time, embarking on projects of civil engineering such as temple building, urban renewal, and the development of water infrastructure was central to establishing the legitimacy of Khmer kings”.

Dr Moffat further explained that the failure of the embankment at Koh Ker, which he said was the largest and most ambitious infrastructure project of the time, may have had a significant impact on the prestige of the sovereign capital, and contributed to the decision to re-establish Angkor as the capital of the Khmer Empire.

Koh Ker is located 90km northeast of Angkor and was established as the capital in the middle of the 10th century CE under King Jayavarman IV. Archaeologists are still trying to understand about this monumental complex of Koh Ker.

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