All language subtitles for L.T.O.A.S01E01.HDTV.H264-RBB

NARRATOR: Hidden among
jungle creepers in South-East Asia

lie the remains
of the abandoned city of Angkor,

once home to one of
the greatest civilisations on earth.

Angkor was a very vivid city,
full of life.

NARRATOR: Angkor was the capital
of the mighty Khmer empire,

which controlled much of the region
for centuries.

In the heart of the city
stood the great temple of Angkor Wat,

still the largest religious site
in the world.

The stunning achievements
of Angkor's mighty warrior kings

are clear to see.

But the story of how and where
this great Khmer civilisation began

has been shrouded in mystery.

Now, the discovery
of an ancient hoard of treasure,

revealed for the very first time,

is providing surprising new clues

about this early Khmer society...

..kilos of gold,

silver and precious stones
in pristine condition.

Oh! Wonderful.

NARRATOR: Our cameras
get unprecedented access...

..as we follow
a team of archaeologists

making incredible discoveries.

This is the first stage
of a wall here.

NARRATOR: Their mission is to work
out the origins of the treasure

and the society it belonged to.

That's quite amazing.

NARRATOR:
They'll scrutinise each artefact...

WOMAN: Yes!
WOMAN 2: Yes!

Today, we are really very lucky.

..excavate the site
where the treasure was found...

Ah! Incredible!

..use the latest technology
to reconstruct history...

This is the photogrammetry

of the collapsed temple.

..and laser-scan the jungle,

revealing lost cities
in astonishing new detail.

Do you think that this city
was the capital of the kingdom?

NARRATOR: Can the treasure
unlock the epic origin story

of the Khmer people,

creators of one of the most powerful
and enduring empires

to rule the medieval world?

In the bustling city of Savannakhet,
in southern Laos,

a multinational team
of the world's top experts

are on their way to see
a priceless hoard of treasure

for the very first time.

Found in a small village nearby,

the treasure is
one of the most spectacular finds

in the history of South-East Asia.

Let's go.

'Cause we have a short time, so...

NARRATOR: This carefully assembled
team has been given just two weeks

by the Lao authorities

to investigate
the mysterious treasure.

How many minutes before to see it?
(LAUGHS)

The team gathered here
is really a dream team.

I think it will be very interesting

to look at it and try to understand
what it could be.

NARRATOR:
The team also want to find out more

about the tiny farming village
in Laos where the treasure was found.

Laos is a landlocked country
in South-East Asia.

Over 1,000 years ago,
it was part of the huge Khmer empire

that stretched about 1 million square
kilometres, with Angkor at its heart.

It was here, in the modern village
of Nong Hua Thong,

that the priceless hoard
of ancient treasure was discovered.

(LOCK CLICKS)

To ensure maximum security,

the treasure is kept
in a secret location

in a heavily protected vault.

Inside the vault, the team
are stunned by what they see.

Oh! Wonderful.

I never seen before like this.

NARRATOR: The treasure is even more
extraordinary than they anticipated.

That's...that's quite amazing. Wow.

Having such a gold and silver
treasure in front of your face

is really impressive.

WOMAN: We have 8kg of gold here
and 18kg of silver.

It's very huge.

Never...we've never have

something like this,

all South-East Asia.

NARRATOR: The exquisite artistry
of these artefacts is unprecedented.

This level of craftsmanship

on such precious material, it's...

(EXHALES)

(LAUGHS) It's...

..it's far beyond

what I encountered already.

NARRATOR:
With so much to do in just two weeks,

the team waste no time
setting up a laboratory in the vault.

Their job is to investigate 60 major
artefacts and 1,800 fragments.

Each one will need to be analysed,
to establish a date and provenance,

then measured, cleaned and conserved.

Objects that are broken
are carefully reassembled.

MAN: I try to match here, but...

..but some parts is missing.

CHRISTOPHE: Yeah.

Good luck.

Thank you.

NARRATOR:
Every object is photographed

so it can be studied
after the vault is closed.

But for now,
having the real thing to hand

is the best way
to investigate every detail

and hunt for clues hidden within
each artefact.

CHRISTOPHE: We are trying to solve
where the objects are coming from,

why they were buried
into this place.

NARRATOR: The huge diversity of this
collection is a mystery for the team.

It appears to tell a complex story.

Not only are there
many different types of objects,

ranging from small bronze pieces
to large prestigious gold artefacts,

but some show the influence
of foreign art styles.

This is very strange.

You know...
Oh, yeah.

..this kind of, uh, design
we can find in, uh...

Champ...Champa kingdom.
Champa.

Yes, yes.
Champa kingdom.

It's beautiful.

NARRATOR: The Champa kingdom
was located nearby,

in what is now Vietnam.

Other artefacts appear to have come
from further away,

like these silver plates from China.

We never found any piece like that.

It's really exceptional
to find this kind of object.

NARRATOR: The rarity of these pieces

make them more difficult
to investigate,

even for the world's top experts.

There are so few comparisons
they can draw on for information.

But despite these challenges,

Christine makes
an early breakthrough.

CHRISTINE: I thought it was

a sort of diadem, but...

..not this...
it's partly gilded, yes.

Only partly gilded.
Here, there is no...no gold.

OK.

CHRISTINE: I think
that it is from Khmer origin.

Which is very interesting

is the two faces over there...

..mmm, with, uh, a lot of teeth.

So it could be ancient

and, um, be pre-Angkorian.

NARRATOR: Christine's confirmation
that this silverware is Khmer

and exceptionally old

is a major revelation.

It means some of the most exquisite
artefacts in this collection

belong to a time
long before Angkor...

..a Khmer world
we know comparatively little about.

The next challenge for the team

is to find out more about

the place
where the treasure was found.

The treasure discovery site,
in the village of Nong Hua Thong,

is located in southern Laos,

on a tributary of the Mekong River.

Here, the team are conducting
an archaeological dig

to see what information
might lie beneath the ground.

Leading the dig
is top archaeologist Nicolas Nauleau.

NICOLAS: The main thing for us now
will be to explain, in fact,

uh, why the treasure was here.

All the context of the treasure.

What has been before the treasure,
what has been after the treasure.

NARRATOR: Nicolas and his team soon
make their first important discovery

two metres below ground.

It's bones.
It's a part of an animal.

We have ashes from fires,
different fires,

after they put the bones
from, uh...from their meal.

It's probably
part of a shoulder here.

Also, we can see the shape here.
It's a part of the...of the mouth.

We have the teeth.

So which kind of, uh, animal is it?

Uh, it's too early to say that.

It's quite rare, in fact,
to find bones in this area.

In South-East Asia, the sediment,
the soil, is...is very acid, uh,

so the bones normally,
they completely disappear.

It could be 100, 200 AD,
some...maybe.

It's possible.

Yeah, it's very exciting, in fact.

NARRATOR: Finding such
ancient evidence of human habitation

is very significant.

It shows this village
could have roots

that stretch back nearly 2,000 years.

The treasure was found
near the bones but higher up.

This means it was buried later.

How it was buried
is also vital information

for the team to investigate.

To find out,
one of the archaeologists, Viengkeo,

is on his way to meet the farmer
who discovered the treasure.

Kyu Phommachack
had been digging in his field

when his spade hit something hard
beneath the surface.

NARRATOR: The fact that the treasure
was found in two stone jars

indicates that whoever buried it
was trying to carefully protect it.

Who might have owned it
and why it might have been hidden

are what the treasure team
need to focus on next.

(HORN HONKS)

NARRATOR: In Savannakhet,
in the treasure vault,

the team are investigating
the priceless gold artefacts.

Because they are so elaborate,

they are the most likely
to offer up hints

about who this collection
could have belonged to.

The most impressive of the objects
is the jewel-encrusted gold box.

Did you see already
something like this?

No, no. We have never seen
such a very beautiful masterpiece.

Do you think, um...do you have
an idea of the providence of this?

I think the object itself

could come from somewhere

in this region of, uh, Laos.

CHRISTINE:
For the moment, we don't know at all

the date of the gold box.

That's the problem for us.

I tried to find some comparison
on bas-relief on box,

and I didn't, uh, find anything.

It's...it's totally unique.

For the box? I have no idea. I never
saw such a box before like that.

NARRATOR: The design of the box
is of particular interest.

It features an unusual fusion
of religious motifs,

represented by different birds,

which may provide clues
to its origin.

CHRISTINE:
You can see here some garuda.

NARRATOR: The garuda is an eagle
that carried the Hindu god Vishnu.

On the top, this is some birds,

take the soul to the paradise.

This is Buddhist.

NARRATOR:
This other bird is known as a hamsa,

a type of swan
that represents reincarnation

in the Buddhist religion.

Buddhism and Hinduism
arrived in South-East Asia

around the 4th century,

brought by travellers from India
heading up the Mekong River.

The dual religious motifs

suggest the box may have been made
in a place and at a time

where these religions coexisted.

Studying how the box was made

may give further clues about

how sophisticated that place was

and even who it was made for.

WOMAN:
They were hammering a gold sheet

from the inside
to make these shapes on the outside,

but they also added the gemstones
in rows

and then put a separate band of gold

across the back of them,

to keep them in place.

The craftsmen...

..were experts.

NARRATOR:
Artisans with this level of skill

point to the box being made
in a highly accomplished workshop,

once supported
by the most wealthy patrons of all -

royalty.

I think that the gold box
is unique. It's for king.

NARRATOR:
Could this be a royal collection?

Why else would a jug
normally made in terracotta

have been exquisitely fabricated
in gold?

Very, very beautiful.

I never seen this,
first time in my life. (LAUGHS)

MAN: They are
quite sophisticated objects

in terms of techniques.

Made of precious metals,
gold and silver.

They were clearly linked to kings
or high dignitaries.

CHRISTINE: So it could be, uh,

the treasure for a king, yeah.

Could be.

But, uh, we have no ev...

..archaeological evidence
for the moment.

That's why, uh,
the excavation continue

on the site of Nong Hua Thong.

NARRATOR: Back at the dig site,

the team have made
an important breakthrough

that may support their theory
the treasure could have belonged

to an elite group of people.

They've discovered the remains
of an ancient temple complex.

And Christine's come to have a look.

Khmer kings built temples

to show their devotion to the gods.

Could the temple indicate
this site was once a royal enclave?

And is there a link
with the treasure?

Maybe there is a connection.
Maybe.

If there is a connection,
it's good for us.

Yes.

Lucky. Lucky.
We will be lucky.

NARRATOR: The style and size
of these large bricks

date the temple to the 7th century,

about 500 years before

Angkor reached its peak.

And even more exciting for the team

is the discovery

of an artefact
inside the temple site.

CHRISTINE: Incredible.

Totally similar that we found
in the treasure of Nong Hua Thong.

NARRATOR:
The team have found a symbol

almost identical to one found
with the treasure.

CHRISTINE: A sort of bell.
WOMAN: Symbol.

Bell...
Mmm.
..symbol.

Petite, erm...cloche.

Usually there is two.

NARRATOR: Khmer symbols like this

would have been used in a temple

as part of a religious ceremony.

Where it was found
could determine how old it is.

So, can you show me...
(SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY) Yes.

..can you show me the exact place,
uh, you find?

Underground?
WOMAN: Yes.

It's a little on the top.
CHRISTINE: Little bit higher?

Yes. A little bit higher.
A little bit higher.

NARRATOR:
From the location it was found,

the team can roughly date the symbol
to the 7th century.

The discoveries suggest

there could have been
a wealthy elite living here,

potentially capable
of owning the precious treasure.

But discussions
about the new discovery

are cut short by looming clouds.

I hope we will
not have rain, uh, here today,

because otherwise
it will be a...a mess.

The rain we have here in this area,
it's a huge range,

and I'm afraid
that the walls with the sand,

uh, they will collapse for sure.

Maybe we need to cover the trench.
Yes.

Maybe we...we...
we need to cover the...the trench.

NARRATOR: The team must cover up
the dig site as fast as possible.

NICOLAS: Take some small tool,

but take a plastic also to protect
the occupation layer, the bones.

So the trench will be full of water.

If it rains a lot, uh,
the bones will completely disappear.

The rain is
the enemy of archaeology, in fact.

(THUNDER CRASHES)

NARRATOR: The rain
may have caused a setback onsite,

but at the treasure vault
in Savannakhet,

there's been
an exciting breakthrough.

While sifting through
the 1,800 fragments,

Donna's found one that appears
to have something intriguing on it.

Ooh. Ooh, look.
You've got an inscription.

Uh... Oh.

Look.
Really? A character?

Yes. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah.

Look.
Oh, man. I didn't even see it.

Erm...Christina.

You can come?

Oh, yes.

NARRATOR: Inscriptions are
a key source of historical evidence

that can reveal the use, origin
or even the creator of the artefact.

This one is in Old Khmer.

This is quite rare, to find
a inscription like this, yes.

NARRATOR: It's a major find.

Only about 1,400 inscriptions
have ever been found

from the 900-year period spanning
the rise of Khmer civilisation

through
to the eventual decline of Angkor.

If they can find
another part of the inscription,

it could help provide information
about the artefact.

Aha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha.
Look, look, look.

NARRATOR:
It seems Christophe has been lucky.

But do the two parts fit together?

No, no, no.
No, no, no.

Not that side.
And the other side.

CHRISTOPHE: Oh! Wait.
DONNA: Yes! Yes, yes. That's it.

(LAUGHS)
Yes!
Yes!

Today, we are really very lucky.
(LAUGHS)

Two fragments back together,

and we have some...part of one...

..fifth in...inscription.

CHRISTOPHE: Very much incomplete.

Very much incomplete. But anyway.

NARRATOR:
Another, complete, inscription

can be seen on the rim
of a small silver bowl.

Interesting object.

NARRATOR:
Inscriptions from the Khmer world

were either written in Old Khmer

or in Sanskrit,
a classical Hindu language often used

for religious texts.

CHRISTOPHE:
If it's poetry, it's Sanskrit.

If it's just prose, uh, it's Khmer.

NARRATOR: In addition
to studying the inscriptions,

the team are also analysing
the iconography on the treasure

to help them date it.

Christine has zeroed in
on a silver plaque

with a particular Hindu god,
represented in a unique way.

CHRISTINE:
We are sure that it is Shiva

because he hold on his hand
the rosary.

Also because he has a hair bun
and there is two worshipper.

This kind of plate,
I can give a date.

It's, erm,
coming from the 8th century.

So this was easy.

And it is Khmer art.

Totally sure.

Because it's, uh,
the...the same iconography.

NARRATOR: Dating the treasure
is a major breakthrough.

Christine is now confident
that the artefacts in the collection

range from the 7th
to the 9th century.

This was a time
known as the early kingdoms period,

when Khmer village chiefs

were beginning to claim the right
to kingship

and create independent states.

There was a lot of small kingdoms

and a lot of small city-states,

which has a small territory
around the main city.

NARRATOR: Could the treasure
discovery site, at Nong Hua Thong,

have been an early city-state,

rich enough and powerful enough
to own such exquisite treasure?

A new discovery suggests
this could be the case.

NARRATOR: In Nong Hua Thong,

at the exact location
where the treasure was discovered,

the archaeological team
have found a very old structure

below the ground surface.

This is a...
a first stage of a wall here.

NARRATOR:
Layers of ash near the bottom

are evidence that people lived
inside the perimeter of this wall.

It is very interesting
to find occupation

on one side.

NARRATOR: The wall could be evidence
that at some point,

Nong Hua Thong developed
from a small village

into a large settlement that needed
protection from potential enemies.

To better understand
the layout of the site,

the team are taking to the skies
for a unique aerial survey.

They're using a game-changing
technology called lidar.

Millions of laser beams are fired
down through gaps in the vegetation,

mapping lost features
in the landscape.

This is the first time

that the little-known history
of this remote region

has been studied like this.

Once the tree cover
is digitally removed,

the ghostly outline
of a forgotten world

appears for the very first time.

This is where
the treasure was discovered,

on the corner of the wall
the archaeologists found

and another similar earthen wall.

But these are no ordinary walls.

They extend for over 2km
across the landscape,

creating a protective boundary

that once might have housed
nearly 8,000 people...

..a lost city revealed
for the very first time.

Inside the city,
the lidar scans show the outline

of a potential royal residence.

The scale and shape of it suggests

it could be the home
of a local king or chief.

The team had no idea an ancient city
like this existed in the area.

And they're keen
to investigate further.

Do you think that this city
was the capital of a kingdom,

a very rich city?

'Cause there is so many objects
in the treasure.

8kg of gold and 18kg of silver.

Yes.
And so many object.

More than 200 objects.

NARRATOR: The fact the treasure
was buried at the corner of two walls

suggests that it was stashed
in a memorable hiding place.

CHRISTINE: You see, uh, Viengkeo,

um, the treasure was hidden
in a special place.

Very easy...
VIENGKEO: Yeah.

..to find again.

It has been hidden here
to be protected, maybe.

That's for sure, yeah.

NARRATOR: If the treasure was buried
to protect it,

it's possible the city was in danger.

During the early kingdoms period,

city-states and local kings
were often at war.

And here,
high up on the bank above the river,

Christine finds evidence that Nong
Hua Thong may have been attacked.

CHRISTINE:
We found projectile, or cannonballs,

on the top of the cliff.

We see very well from here.

It is a high level here.

And they are heavy.

It's terracotta.

So...it's the...the right size.

So it is very easy, you see, to...

..uh, use it.

To throw against the enemy.
To throw against the enemy.

Oh.
The cannonball.

Maybe they used catapult
to try to save the city.

And before the attack of the city,

the king wanted to preserve
their treasure.

So they put
all the gold and the silver

and buried it on earth
to protect it and to save it.

But maybe they didn't win...
(LAUGHS)

..because nobody come back
to take the treasure again.

That's why we found it.

NARRATOR: The treasure may
have been buried at a time of war,

but that doesn't explain
why this ancient city

might have had
such precious artefacts.

Given the city's
relatively small size,

it's conceivable
that the treasure might have come

from a larger, wealthier city-state.

And the riverbank offers up a clue

that the treasure may have come
from somewhere else.

Look.

This one is clearly visible, no?

NARRATOR: They've found what appear
to be hand-chiselled post holes.

CHRISTINE: They are quite, uh,
40cm of diameter.

NARRATOR:
Each hole would have been carved

to fit individual wooden posts.

Christine thinks they could date back
as far as the 7th century.

They stretch all the way
to the water.

CHRISTINE: I can see them

doing a line like this.

NARRATOR: Judging by
the number and size of the holes,

it's possible that this could
have been a large pier or wharf.

And it's connected directly
to the city...

Yeah.

..and...quite directly

to where we found the treasure.

So, you see, Viengkeo,

maybe the treasure was coming...

..with a boat

and was hidden here,

and maybe it's not the
original place of the treasure...

..even if it is an ancient city.

NARRATOR: This is a big revelation

and has caused the team to reflect
on why the treasure

might have been brought
to this particular location.

The ancient city at Nong Hua Thong
is situated in a strategic location.

Its position,
close to the Mekong River,

placed it
on the main north/south trade route

throughout the entire Khmer period.

VIENGKEO: The Mekong River,

it's very important
to the life of the people.

It is considered
the, uh, sacred river.

A lot of very important kingdoms,

very important cities,

are located along this river.

Mekong River is the main road
in the ancient times.

Of course, the king at that time,

they could be travelling by boat

in between their palaces,
their capitals,

upstream to downstream.

NARRATOR: Some ancient capitals

were richer and more established
than others.

Could the treasure
have been brought to Nong Hua Thong

by a wealthy dignitary
from another kingdom?

In the local language,

"Nong Hua Thong" means
"the pond of the golden barge".

The discovery of the ancient wharf

is an important step forward
for the team.

Along with
the diversity of the objects,

it suggests the treasure may not
have originated where it was found.

Could the treasure have come
from a larger city-state,

with greater resources,
to support a highly skilled workshop

that could have made it?

Locating where that place might be
is the next task.

NARRATOR: In Savannakhet,

the team are trying to understand

where else
the treasure may have come from.

By looking at what the objects
might have been used for,

they're hoping
to find some new leads.

The silver bowl appears to be
a religious ceremonial object.

We know that it is a gift
from a rich donator.

It was for the worshipping of Shiva.

NARRATOR: The bowl was clearly
donated by a very important person,

potentially a king,

to be used in a temple.

It's very important for kings
to give a lot of gifts to the gods.

NARRATOR:
Khmer kings established temples

as a way of legitimising their power.

This entrenched the idea
of a hierarchical society,

with Shiva at the top,
sanctifying the king's right to rule.

The power of the king
is more or less justified

by the power of the gods.

NARRATOR: The more powerful the king,
the larger the temple,

the more exquisite artefacts
it might contain.

The design and sheer value
of the treasure

suggests it may have come
from a major royal Khmer court.

And given the discoveries
the team have already made,

Christophe has a hunch
where that might be.

The number one suspect
to have this kind of object

would be actually the...
the temple of Vat Phou.

NARRATOR: Vat Phou is located
350km down the Mekong River

from Nong Hua Thong.

It is the most venerated
religious site in Laos.

(SPIRITUAL CHANTING)

NARRATOR: Every year,
on the full moon of the third month,

thousands of worshippers flock to Vat
Phou for a vast religious ceremony.

(SPIRITUAL CHANTING)

NARRATOR: Held over three days,

processions of chanting monks
pay homage to this holy site.

(SPIRITUAL CHANTING)

NARRATOR: Although Buddhist today,

its roots are in Hinduism and
stretch back nearly 1,500 years...

..long before Angkor was built.

Vat Phou temple sits at the foot
of Mount Phou Kao.

This distinctively shaped
sacred mountain

was believed
by the early Khmer people

to be the physical embodiment
of the Hindu god Shiva.

Vat Phou was built
in this sacred landscape

to represent
a virtual heaven on earth.

Constructed over several centuries,

the temple complex stretches out
over 1,400 metres,

rising up to a natural terrace.

This is where the holiest temple
is situated, overlooking the Mekong.

For the treasure team,
the sacred site of Vat Phou

has all the hallmarks of a place
that might have been able to afford

the exquisite artefacts
found at Nong Hua Thong.

Christine also suspects that
there might be similarities between

the iconography on the treasure
and the designs on the temple itself,

and she's heading there to find out.

So, it could be a connection
for some object, um, between

uh, the treasure of Nong Hua Thong
and Vat Phou.

NARRATOR:
To see if anything at Vat Phou

corresponds
with the iconography on the treasure,

Christine's brought along photos
for comparison.

She's looking at the carvings
on the lintels

above the doorways

in the main temple.

CHRISTINE:
On several object of the treasure,

there is a face
which is very recognisable.

Uh, this is the...the head of Kala.

NARRATOR:
According to Khmer mythology,

Kala, the god of death,
asked Shiva if he could eat people.

Shiva refused and as a penance
made Kala eat himself.

CHRISTINE:
Yeah, you can see the teeth

and the nose.

NARRATOR:
And this is not the only artefact

that shows a visual connection
to the carvings at Vat Phou.

The silver plaque
with Shiva and two worshippers

is almost exactly the same.

In the middle, you have Shiva,

sitting and hanging the rosary,

with the hair band,

between two worshipper.

Shiva is the...

..the god for the hermits,

and we know
that there was a lot of hermits

living all around in the mountain,

because it was the sacred mountain,
the mountain of Shiva.

NARRATOR: But while the iconography
on the treasure and the temple match,

the timeline doesn't.

The main temple here in Vat Phou

was built long after
the treasure was produced.

CHRISTINE:
The plate of Nong Hua Thong

is more ancient
than the lintel of Vat Phou,

but it is
exactly the same iconography.

NARRATOR: To support the theory

that some of the artefacts
in the treasure collection

may have originated in Vat Phou,

the team now need to establish
if there was an earlier temple here

at the time the treasure was made.

NARRATOR: Exploring
the earliest history of Vat Phou

is a speciality of
Lao architect Vissa Chanthaphasouk.

Her goal is to investigate

when different parts
of the temple site were built.

Part of my work consists of, um,

doing, uh, a survey
with the new technology.

NARRATOR: She's using a technique
called photogrammetry,

where thousands of photographs are
digitally amassed into a 3D image.

I will start from here.
OK.

NARRATOR:
Surveying the site is a major task,

best performed from the air.

OK. Let's go.

(DRONE BUZZES)

VISSA: The first thing that we see
is that Vat Phou is not alone.

So a lot more remains
of Khmer structure

all around the sacred mountain.

NARRATOR:
The aerial survey allows Vissa

to identify ruins on the landscape.

Photogrammetry
will then enable her to reconstruct

and possibly date
some of these ancient sites.

Today, Christophe is joining her
to investigate a collapsed temple

within the main temple complex.

Uh...

..that's supposed to be the door,
or what?

Yeah, uh, uh...
we think that it's a door.

We did photogrammetry of this part,

and, um, I tried

to do reconstruction.

OK, fine.

Let's look at your computer, then.
Yep.

So, this is the photogrammetry

of the collapsed building
we're sitting on.

And...
Yes.

..the whole wall slabs.

So we got the height of it.

NARRATOR: Vissa has taken the
dimensions from the photogrammetry

and a drawing made
by an earlier architect

and reconstructed the temple
for the first time.

VISSA: This is the reconstruction

of the buildings
that we are sitting on.

That's really, uh,
brutal, uh, architecture.
Mmm.

NARRATOR: The lack of ornamentation

suggests
the temple could be very early.

In terms of dating
for this building...
Yes.

It's clearly
the oldest building remaining.

In...
Just... Yeah. In...in Vat Phou.

NARRATOR: Christophe believes

this unadorned temple
could be 7th-century.

This ties in with the date
of some of the earliest artefacts

in the treasure collection.

CHRISTOPHE: It's clear when...

..the shrine of Vat Phou
could have had this kind of object.

NARRATOR: The team now suspect

the treasure
could have belonged to a king,

who may have donated it
to an early temple at Vat Phou.

And an incredible carving
in the Vat Phou museum

reveals when the earliest Khmer kings
came to this sacred place.

The Devanika stele
was carved in 450 AD,

around 300 years before the treasure
and the ancient temple.

It's the oldest known Sanskrit
inscription in South-East Asia,

and it says
who the very first king was.

CHRISTINE: Devanika was the king
of kings, coming from far away.

That, he's saying.

"I am Maharajadhiraja."

Uh, it's a beautiful poem.

Uh, it's very well, uh, written.

NARRATOR: From this foundation stone,
the team know

that King Devanika started to build
his royal city in the 5th century.

It was located here,
on the banks of the Mekong River,

just 6km
from the temple site of Vat Phou,

in the foothills
of the sacred mountain.

Today, there's nothing to indicate

that this was once
a royal Khmer enclave.

So, to understand the layout and size
of this first royal city,

the team have carried out
a lidar survey.

It's the first time this area
has been explored in this way.

What appears is King Devanika's
royal city in extraordinary detail.

A vast 4km moat
surrounds and protects the city.

This rectangular enclosure

was the first of its kind
in South-East Asia,

a shape that would
later be echoed in Angkor.

A walled inner sanctum
may have been where the elite lived.

Adding houses to the lidar map
allows us to imagine

how full of life
this Khmer city might once have been.

King Devanika called his divine city
Kurukshetra.

Although it was founded
in the 5th century,

this first royal city
was still thriving

at the time the treasure was made.

Could the treasure have been crafted
by artisans living locally,

made for a king to be used
in the nearby Vat Phou temple?

Would that be fabricated
by any workshop here in the city,

uh, in Vat Phou?

Yeah, it's highly probable.

Because, actually,
they had the customer next door,

actually, the priests and the kings.

NARRATOR:
The investigation into the treasure

and the origins of this special site

has given the team
a greater understanding

of just how sophisticated
and accomplished

early Khmer society really was...

..an era that would eventually
culminate with the wonders of Angkor.

And it all began here,
in the sacred landscape of Vat Phou.

CHRISTOPHE: We have been
working for years in Angkor,

trying to understand the origin,

and Vat Phou is an amazing case
for...for that.

Vat Phou is the beginning
of the Khmer civilisation.

NARRATOR: Vat Phou was the spiritual
heartland of the first Khmer kings.

Kurukshetra
was their administrative capital,

from which they ruled their domain.

This was a turning point
in Khmer history,

when a collection
of small city-states merged

into a single, more powerful kingdom

that started an empire.

The treasure
marks this exact period in history...

..revealing the power,

wealth and ambition

of the Khmer people,

who would go on to build one
of the greatest cities on earth...

..Angkor.

Captions by Red Bee Media
(c) SBS Australia 2024