Word: angkor
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...prevent further deterioration of the Angkor monuments, scientists need to explore what made the ancient society work. At a minimum, they have to understand the remarkable water-management system created by the Khmers. Beginning in the late 9th century a succession of Kings constructed enormous reservoirs, some as large as 20 sq. mi. These barays and a complex gravity-fed network of moats and canals provided an almost continuous supply of water so that three rice crops a year could be grown. That production enabled Khmer Kings to extend their empires and build temples to their own divinity...
...most recent threat to Angkor arose during Cambodia's 20-year-long civil war, which began in the early 1970s. The Khmer Rouge, whose genocidal reign of terror killed an estimated 1 million Cambodians, did little direct damage to the monuments, but the fighting made maintenance impossible. Says B. Narasimhaiah, the head of an Indian archaeology team at Angkor Wat: "Wherever there is a small crack, dust will accumulate and soon a bush will spring up." All but a few of the major temples are covered in weeds, small bushes and even large trees...
...centuries, and it totally collapsed following the construction of grandiose hydroprojects by the Khmer Rouge. They dammed the Siem Reap River, an integral part of the ancient system, in order to create their own baray farther north. As a result, the moats and canals surrounding the temples of Angkor turned into swamps...
...percolates up into the sandstone and allows mold and moss to destroy the intricate carvings and eventually the integrity of the structures. The antidote used so far has been to scrub the facades. Since 1986 the Archaeological Survey of India has spent the six-month dry season sprucing up Angkor Wat. A team of 15 Indian specialists supervises more than 300 unskilled Cambodian workers, who scrape the fragile sandstone carvings with brushes and chemicals...
While the bright facade of Angkor Wat is a welcome change from the grim, mold-covered exteriors of the other temples, the procedure is controversial. Says a foreign archaeologist at Angkor: "Initially, the Indians were very careless. Much of the detail in the carving has been lost." But on balance, there is less criticism of the Indian efforts now than a few years ago. Says Pich Keo, director of the National Museum in Phnom Penh: "At least they came here and worked when no one else would come...