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Narrator: IT'S THE STORY
OF A YOUNG PRINCE
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00:00:06,499 --> 00:00:08,916
WITH GREAT AMBITION,
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00:00:08,917 --> 00:00:11,959
A KING WHO TOOK POWER BY FORCE.
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00:00:14,792 --> 00:00:16,833
A RULER WHO BUILT HIS LEGACY
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00:00:16,834 --> 00:00:19,542
IN THE FORM OF
A SPECTACULAR TEMPLE...
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00:00:21,499 --> 00:00:25,498
TOWERING 100 FEET
ABOVE THE TAJ MAHAL,
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AND CONTAINING MORE STONE THAN
THE GREAT PYRAMID OF GIZA.
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00:00:30,499 --> 00:00:32,749
IT IS THE LARGEST
SACRED STRUCTURE
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00:00:32,750 --> 00:00:35,459
ANYWHERE ON THE FACE
OF THE EARTH.
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00:00:36,750 --> 00:00:40,750
CAMBODIA'S EXTRAORDINARY
ANGKOR WAT.
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00:00:43,834 --> 00:00:47,498
EARLY WESTERN VISITORS WERE SO
AWESTRUCK BY THE ANCIENT TEMPLE,
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00:00:47,499 --> 00:00:50,291
THEY BELIEVED IT WAS BUILT
BY ALEXANDER THE GREAT
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00:00:50,292 --> 00:00:52,708
OR THE ANCIENT ROMANS.
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00:00:52,709 --> 00:00:55,167
OF COURSE, THEY WERE WRONG.
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00:00:56,792 --> 00:00:59,498
THE BUILDERS OF ANGKOR WAT
WERE THE ANCIENT KHMER,
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00:00:59,499 --> 00:01:02,958
THE GREAT AND MYSTERIOUS
CIVILIZATION THAT DOMINATED
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00:01:02,959 --> 00:01:05,958
MUCH OF SOUTHEAST ASIA
FOR SIX CENTURIES,
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AND LEFT BEHIND ONE OF THE
GREATEST ARCHITECTURAL WONDERS
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00:01:09,499 --> 00:01:12,376
EVER CREATED BY HUMAN HANDS.
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ON A LUSH PLAIN,
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00:01:27,859 --> 00:01:30,899
DEEP IN THE TROPICAL FOREST
OF NORTHWESTERN CAMBODIA,
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00:01:30,900 --> 00:01:34,359
LIE THE RUINS OF
THE ANCIENT CITY OF ANGKOR.
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00:01:36,899 --> 00:01:42,942
ONCE THE SPRAWLING CAPITAL
OF THE VAST KHMER EMPIRE,
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TODAY, ANGKOR IS STILL
A SWEEPING LANDSCAPE--
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00:01:47,651 --> 00:01:49,191
400 SQUARE MILES
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00:01:49,192 --> 00:01:54,691
WHERE MORE THAN 1,200
ANCIENT TEMPLES STILL SURVIVE.
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ARCHITECTURAL MASTERPIECES
FANTASTICALLY CARVED
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FROM TENS OF MILLIONS OF TONS
OF LOCAL SANDSTONE.
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00:02:05,899 --> 00:02:09,566
THE FAMOUS TEMPLES WERE BUILT
OVER A SPAN OF FIVE CENTURIES.
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00:02:09,567 --> 00:02:13,066
THEY ENDURE TODAY AS ONE OF THE
WORLD'S GREATEST TREASURE TROVES
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00:02:13,067 --> 00:02:16,150
OF ART, ARCHAEOLOGY AND HISTORY.
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BUT THE CITY OF ANGKOR
WAS EVENTUALLY ABANDONED
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AS THE KHMER CAPITAL,
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00:02:22,899 --> 00:02:25,400
AND ITS TEMPLES WERE SWALLOWED
BY THE JUNGLE,
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FORGOTTEN BY THE OUTSIDE WORLD.
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00:02:35,899 --> 00:02:37,441
NOT UNTIL THE 19th CENTURY
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WAS THE MOST FAMOUS OF
ALL THE ANGKOR STRUCTURES
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BROUGHT TO THE ATTENTION
OF THE WEST.
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00:02:44,484 --> 00:02:46,691
IN JANUARY OF 1860,
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00:02:46,692 --> 00:02:50,441
THE FRENCH NATURALIST
HENRI MOUHOT WROTE,
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00:02:50,442 --> 00:02:51,858
"ONE OF THESE TEMPLES,
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00:02:51,859 --> 00:02:53,608
A RIVAL TO THAT OF SOLOMON,
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00:02:53,609 --> 00:02:56,650
AND ERECTED BY SOME ANCIENT
MICHELANGELO
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MIGHT TAKE AN HONORABLE PLACE
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BESIDE OUR MOST BEAUTIFUL
BUILDINGS."
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"IT IS GRANDER THAN ANYTHING
LEFT TO US BY GREECE OR ROME."
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00:03:11,899 --> 00:03:15,567
HE WAS DESCRIBING THE SPLENDOR
OF ANGKOR WAT.
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00:03:23,609 --> 00:03:25,274
WHEN SMITHSONIAN MAGAZINE LISTED
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00:03:25,275 --> 00:03:28,149
"28 PLACES TO SEE
BEFORE YOU DIE,"
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IT CALLED ANGKOR WAT
A TEMPLE "SO MAGNIFICENT
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IT COULD ONLY HAVE BEEN BUILT
BY DIVINE INSPIRATION."
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00:03:34,275 --> 00:03:35,858
AND SO IT WAS.
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00:03:35,859 --> 00:03:37,400
INSPIRED BY GODS,
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00:03:37,401 --> 00:03:39,898
BUILT BY A MAN YOU'VE
PROBABLY NEVER HEARD OF,
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00:03:39,899 --> 00:03:43,358
BUT WHOSE STORY IS ONE OF
THE WORLD'S GREAT LEGENDS.
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00:03:43,359 --> 00:03:45,400
HI, MY NAME IS YUL KWON,
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AND IT'S MY HONOR TO TAKE YOU
ON A JOURNEY BACK IN TIME
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00:03:48,484 --> 00:03:50,775
TO DISCOVER
THE SECRETS OF ANGKOR
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00:03:50,776 --> 00:03:53,024
AND RELIVE THE ADVENTURES
OF ITS CREATOR,
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00:03:53,025 --> 00:03:55,982
A RULER CALLED
SURYAVARMAN II.
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00:03:55,983 --> 00:03:57,525
900 YEARS AGO,
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00:03:57,526 --> 00:04:00,149
HE LED THE KHMER EMPIRE
IN WHAT IS TODAY CAMBODIA,
63
00:04:00,150 --> 00:04:03,691
AND THIS TEMPLE IS HIS LEGACY.
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00:04:03,692 --> 00:04:06,024
MORE THAN A MILLION PEOPLE
VISIT HERE EVERY YEAR,
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00:04:06,025 --> 00:04:08,898
OVERCOME BY ITS SIZE
AND GRANDEUR.
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00:04:08,899 --> 00:04:11,898
BUT IF YOU THINK
THIS PLACE IS BEAUTIFUL NOW,
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00:04:11,899 --> 00:04:14,775
JUST WAIT TILL YOU SEE IT
IN ITS GLORY DAYS.
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THIS IS THE STORY OF ANGKOR WAT.
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00:04:19,899 --> 00:04:21,898
IN THE 12th CENTURY A.D.,
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00:04:21,899 --> 00:04:24,691
A YOUNG MAN WITH ROYAL BLOOD
WAS COMING OF AGE
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00:04:24,692 --> 00:04:26,692
IN THE KHMER COUNTRYSIDE.
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00:04:32,109 --> 00:04:35,233
AT THAT TIME, THE KHMER EMPIRE
CONTROLLED LARGE PORTIONS
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00:04:35,234 --> 00:04:37,898
OF MODERN SOUTHEAST ASIA,
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00:04:37,899 --> 00:04:41,983
INCLUDING THE PRINCE'S HOME OF
LOPBURI, NORTHWEST OF ANGKOR.
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00:04:46,192 --> 00:04:49,108
THE ROYAL PRINCE WAS SAID TO BE
A SKILLED WARRIOR,
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00:04:49,109 --> 00:04:51,899
BRAVE AND WISE BEYOND HIS YEARS.
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00:04:58,899 --> 00:05:02,525
HE CAME TO THE ATTENTION
OF A PROMINENT HINDU PRIEST,
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00:05:02,526 --> 00:05:06,149
DIVAKARA PANDITA, A RELIGIOUS
LEADER WITH GREAT INFLUENCE
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00:05:06,150 --> 00:05:08,025
IN MATTERS OF STATE.
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00:05:17,317 --> 00:05:20,483
AMBITIOUS, ROYAL
AND WELL-CONNECTED,
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00:05:20,484 --> 00:05:25,650
SURYAVARMAN II BEGAN
TO DREAM OF BECOMING KING
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00:05:25,651 --> 00:05:28,734
AND RULING THE VAST
KHMER EMPIRE.
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00:05:31,942 --> 00:05:34,316
UNDER THE RULE OF
DHARANINDRAVARMAN,
84
00:05:34,317 --> 00:05:35,733
THE TURN OF THE 12th CENTURY
85
00:05:35,734 --> 00:05:40,691
WAS A TIME OF CHAOS AND
FRAGMENTATION IN THE KINGDOM.
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00:05:40,692 --> 00:05:43,942
HIS REIGN WAS MARKED BY
POWER STRUGGLES AND TURMOIL.
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00:05:47,899 --> 00:05:51,483
THE AGING DHARANINDRAVARMAN
WAS AN INEFFECTUAL RULER
88
00:05:51,484 --> 00:05:53,400
WHO NEVER SUCCEEDED
IN BRINGING ORDER
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00:05:53,401 --> 00:05:55,818
TO HIS SPRAWLING TERRITORIES.
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00:05:59,899 --> 00:06:03,358
OPPOSING FACTIONS AROSE
THROUGHOUT THE EMPIRE.
91
00:06:03,359 --> 00:06:06,483
THE YOUNG PRINCE'S CLAN GAINED
INFLUENCE IN THE NORTH,
92
00:06:06,484 --> 00:06:09,484
WHILE THE OLDER ROYAL CLANS
WERE PUSHED SOUTH.
93
00:06:13,692 --> 00:06:16,441
DIVAKARA PANDITA AND
OTHER POWERFUL PRIESTS
94
00:06:16,442 --> 00:06:19,733
BACKED THE YOUNG PRINCE,
HOPING HE COULD UNIFY THE EMPIRE
95
00:06:19,734 --> 00:06:22,234
AND BRING HARMONY TO
THE FRACTURED KINGDOM.
96
00:06:26,983 --> 00:06:30,859
CIVIL WAR ERUPTED AS THE FORCES
VIED FOR CONTROL.
97
00:06:32,442 --> 00:06:33,899
AN INSCRIPTION
DESCRIBES THE MOMENT
98
00:06:33,900 --> 00:06:35,733
THE YOUNG PRINCE TOOK POWER,
99
00:06:35,734 --> 00:06:39,691
COMPARING HIM TO
A MYTHICAL BIRD.
100
00:06:39,692 --> 00:06:42,024
"SURYAVARMAN BOUNDED TO
THE HEAD OF THE ELEPHANT
101
00:06:42,025 --> 00:06:43,898
OF THE ENEMY KING,
102
00:06:43,899 --> 00:06:46,942
AND KILLED HIM
AS AN EAGLE MIGHT KILL A SNAKE."
103
00:06:57,192 --> 00:06:59,898
SURYAVARMAN II
WAS ONLY 17 YEARS OLD
104
00:06:59,899 --> 00:07:04,525
WHEN HE SEIZED CONTROL OF
THE KHMER EMPIRE IN 1113 A.D.
105
00:07:04,526 --> 00:07:06,191
THIS IS HIM RIGHT HERE,
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00:07:06,192 --> 00:07:08,898
EASY TO MISS AMONG THE MILE
OF GODS AND SPIRITS
107
00:07:08,899 --> 00:07:11,233
CARVED INTO ANGKOR'S WALLS.
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00:07:11,234 --> 00:07:14,400
IT WASN'T UNUSUAL AT THE TIME
FOR A REBEL TO BECOME KING.
109
00:07:14,401 --> 00:07:15,941
BUT FOR SURYAVARMAN II,
110
00:07:15,942 --> 00:07:18,898
KILLING THE FORMER KING
WAS ONLY THE FIRST STAGE.
111
00:07:18,899 --> 00:07:20,899
HE STILL HAD TO CONQUER
THE REST OF AN EMPIRE
112
00:07:20,900 --> 00:07:22,941
THAT WAS IN UTTER DISARRAY.
113
00:07:22,942 --> 00:07:24,733
THE CROWN WOULD ONLY BE HIS
114
00:07:24,734 --> 00:07:28,234
IF HE COULD END THE TURMOIL
AND UNIFY THE LAND.
115
00:07:31,067 --> 00:07:33,941
IT TOOK SIX LONG YEARS
FOR SURYAVARMAN II
116
00:07:33,942 --> 00:07:37,149
TO SOLIDIFY HIS CONTROL
OVER THE VAST EMPIRE
117
00:07:37,150 --> 00:07:40,400
AND CONQUER
THE SOUTHERN FACTIONS.
118
00:07:40,401 --> 00:07:49,233
BUT NOW, AT LAST, THE ENTIRE
KHMER EMPIRE WAS UNITED
119
00:07:49,234 --> 00:07:52,566
SURYAVARMAN'S SOLDIERS AND
SUBJECTS TOOK AN OATH OF LOYALTY
120
00:07:52,567 --> 00:07:55,608
THAT STRENGTHENED HIS REALM.
121
00:07:55,609 --> 00:07:57,982
"WE WILL SERVE NO OTHER KING.
122
00:07:57,983 --> 00:08:02,191
WE WILL SACRIFICE OUR LIVES FOR
OUR KING IN THE FACE OF WAR.
123
00:08:02,192 --> 00:08:06,899
WE WILL BE REBORN IN THE 32
HELLS IF WE BREAK OUR OATH."
124
00:08:11,192 --> 00:08:14,691
In 1119, AT THE ROYAL PALACE
OF ANGKOR,
125
00:08:14,692 --> 00:08:18,108
SURYAVARMAN II OFFICIALLY BECAME
THE 18th KING
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00:08:18,109 --> 00:08:20,898
OF THE KHMER EMPIRE.
127
00:08:20,899 --> 00:08:24,149
HE WAS GIVEN THE ROYAL TITLE
SURYAVARMAN,
128
00:08:24,150 --> 00:08:26,024
"PROTECTOR OF THE SUN,"
129
00:08:26,025 --> 00:08:28,900
AND WAS CORONATED
ALONGSIDE HIS QUEEN.
130
00:08:31,317 --> 00:08:35,025
THIS MOMENT USHERED IN THE
GOLDEN AGE OF THE KHMER EMPIRE.
131
00:08:37,484 --> 00:08:40,566
SURYAVARMAN II
WAS ONLY 23 YEARS OLD
132
00:08:40,567 --> 00:08:41,941
WHEN WE WAS CROWNED RULER
133
00:08:41,942 --> 00:08:44,899
OF ONE OF THE GREATEST EMPIRES
OF ASIA.
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00:08:47,067 --> 00:08:49,566
JUST AS KHMER KINGS
HAD DONE FOR CENTURIES,
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00:08:49,567 --> 00:08:52,191
SURYAVARMAN II
RULED FROM ANGKOR,
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00:08:52,192 --> 00:08:54,941
THE SEAT OF THE KHMER EMPIRE.
137
00:08:54,942 --> 00:08:59,149
BUT ITS SOUL RESIDED
IN ANOTHER PLACE.
138
00:08:59,150 --> 00:09:01,775
TRADITIONALLY,
NEWLY CROWNED KHMER RULERS
139
00:09:01,776 --> 00:09:05,191
WOULD MAKE A PILGRIMAGE
TO THE SACRED PHNOM KULEN,
140
00:09:05,192 --> 00:09:09,566
A MOUNTAIN RANGE 25 MILES
NORTHEAST OF ANGKOR.
141
00:09:09,567 --> 00:09:12,024
THREE CENTURIES BEFORE
SURYAVARMAN II,
142
00:09:12,025 --> 00:09:15,566
THE EMPIRE'S FIRST MONARCH,
JAYAVARMAN II,
143
00:09:15,567 --> 00:09:20,691
CAME TO THIS SAME MOUNTAIN
ON A SIMILAR SPIRITUAL JOURNEY.
144
00:09:20,692 --> 00:09:25,149
HERE, A SACRED RITUAL ANOINTED
HIM THE FIRST SUPREME RULER,
145
00:09:25,150 --> 00:09:28,567
AN EVENT THAT MARKED THE
FOUNDING OF THE KHMER EMPIRE.
146
00:09:31,484 --> 00:09:32,899
THIS HALLOWED SPOT
147
00:09:32,900 --> 00:09:37,274
HAD DEEP RELIGIOUS AND POLITICAL
SIGNIFICANCE FOR THE KHMER
148
00:09:37,275 --> 00:09:40,818
AND IS STILL CONSIDERED HOLY
BY MODERN CAMBODIANS.
149
00:09:42,359 --> 00:09:45,358
THIS RIVER WAS A SOURCE OF
THE INGENIOUS WATER SYSTEM
150
00:09:45,359 --> 00:09:49,359
THAT WAS KEY TO THE WEALTH AND
SUCCESS OF THE ENTIRE REGION.
151
00:09:54,442 --> 00:09:58,274
THE RELIGION OF THE EARLY
KHMER EMPIRE WAS HINDUISM.
152
00:09:58,275 --> 00:10:00,608
AND THIS SACRED MOUNTAIN
IS RICHLY CARVED
153
00:10:00,609 --> 00:10:04,859
WITH IMAGES OF HINDU DEITIES,
INCLUDING VISHNU.
154
00:10:12,776 --> 00:10:16,898
A THOUSAND LINGA
RISE FROM THE RIVERBED.
155
00:10:16,899 --> 00:10:19,775
CARVED OVER THE CENTURIES
DURING THE DRY SEASONS,
156
00:10:19,776 --> 00:10:22,941
THESE STONE PHALLUSES ARE
SYMBOLS OF FERTILITY
157
00:10:22,942 --> 00:10:24,899
AND THE MALE CREATIVE FORCE.
158
00:10:29,899 --> 00:10:32,775
A CORRESPONDING FEMALE SYMBOL
IS THE YONI,
159
00:10:32,776 --> 00:10:37,066
A VESSEL SHAPE THAT REPRESENTS
FEMININE CREATIVE ENERGY.
160
00:10:37,067 --> 00:10:39,898
THE LINGA IS OFTEN
PLACED UPON THE YONI.
161
00:10:39,899 --> 00:10:41,898
TOGETHER,
THE TWO FORMS SYMBOLIZE
162
00:10:41,899 --> 00:10:45,898
THE INDIVISIBLE CONNECTION
BETWEEN MALE AND FEMALE--
163
00:10:45,899 --> 00:10:49,898
THE UNION FROM WHICH
ALL LIFE SPRINGS.
164
00:10:49,899 --> 00:10:52,817
WATERS THAT WASHED OVER
THESE SACRED STONE CARVINGS
165
00:10:52,818 --> 00:10:55,066
WERE THOUGHT TO CARRY
FERTILITY AND ABUNDANCE
166
00:10:55,067 --> 00:10:57,067
TO THE LANDS OF THE EMPIRE.
167
00:10:58,776 --> 00:11:00,898
METAPHORICALLY,
THESE WATERS ALSO CONVEYED
168
00:11:00,899 --> 00:11:03,983
THE POWER OF THE KING
THROUGHOUT HIS KINGDOM.
169
00:11:05,275 --> 00:11:07,483
A KING'S POWER
WAS ALSO EXPRESSED
170
00:11:07,484 --> 00:11:11,898
BY MONUMENTAL
ARCHITECTURAL STRUCTURES.
171
00:11:11,899 --> 00:11:14,066
IT WAS CUSTOMARY
FOR A KHMER RULER
172
00:11:14,067 --> 00:11:17,525
TO BUILD ONE OR MORE TEMPLES
DURING HIS REIGN,
173
00:11:17,526 --> 00:11:21,191
USUALLY DEDICATED
TO THE GOD VISHNU.
174
00:11:21,192 --> 00:11:23,608
THE THIRD KHMER KING,
INDRAVARMAN,
175
00:11:23,609 --> 00:11:27,608
BUILT THIS RED BRICK TEMPLE
IN 879 A.D.
176
00:11:27,609 --> 00:11:29,149
IT'S CALLED PREAH KO,
177
00:11:29,150 --> 00:11:31,899
AND HE BUILT IT IN HONOR
OF HIS ANCESTORS.
178
00:11:36,067 --> 00:11:41,066
BANTEAY SREI TEMPLE WAS BUILT
MORE THAN A CENTURY LATER.
179
00:11:41,067 --> 00:11:43,899
ITS NAME MEANS
"CITADEL OF BEAUTY."
180
00:11:45,609 --> 00:11:47,525
ITS FAMOUS CARVINGS
ARE STILL CONSIDERED
181
00:11:47,526 --> 00:11:50,359
AMONG THE HIGHEST ACHIEVEMENTS
OF KHMER ART.
182
00:11:53,942 --> 00:11:57,691
THE 9th CENTURY BAKONG TEMPLE
WITH ITS MASSIVE MOAT
183
00:11:57,692 --> 00:12:00,818
MAY HAVE INSPIRED
SURYAVARMAN II.
184
00:12:03,899 --> 00:12:06,191
WHEN IT CAME TIME FOR
THE NEWLY CROWNED KING
185
00:12:06,192 --> 00:12:08,566
TO BEGIN PLANNING
FOR HIS TEMPLE,
186
00:12:08,567 --> 00:12:10,817
HE DECIDED TO CREATE A STRUCTURE
187
00:12:10,818 --> 00:12:12,941
THAT WOULD EXCEED
ALL OTHER TEMPLES
188
00:12:12,942 --> 00:12:15,484
IN BOTH SIZE AND GRANDEUR.
189
00:12:19,567 --> 00:12:21,898
HE ENTRUSTED
THIS AMBITIOUS UNDERTAKING
190
00:12:21,899 --> 00:12:26,858
TO THE SAME BRAHMIN PRIEST
WHO HELPED HIM TAKE THE THRONE.
191
00:12:26,859 --> 00:12:30,024
DIVAKARA PANDITA WOULD OVERSEE
THE PLANNING AND CONSTRUCTION
192
00:12:30,025 --> 00:12:32,067
OF ANGKOR WAT.
193
00:12:38,150 --> 00:12:39,817
WITHIN THE CITY OF ANGKOR,
194
00:12:39,818 --> 00:12:42,898
SURYAVARMAN'S TEMPLE WOULD
FOLLOW THE CUSTOMARY STRUCTURE
195
00:12:42,899 --> 00:12:44,899
OF OTHER KHMER SHRINES.
196
00:12:46,150 --> 00:12:49,441
KHMER TEMPLES REPRESENT
THE MYTHICAL MOUNT MERU,
197
00:12:49,442 --> 00:12:52,316
THE CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE
AND HOME OF THE GODS,
198
00:12:52,317 --> 00:12:54,317
ACCORDING TO HINDU COSMOLOGY.
199
00:12:57,692 --> 00:12:59,316
BUT THE TEMPLE
SURYAVARMAN PLANNED
200
00:12:59,317 --> 00:13:02,733
WAS ON A SCALE THAT WOULD
DWARF ALL OTHER TEMPLES
201
00:13:02,734 --> 00:13:04,526
ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD.
202
00:13:05,899 --> 00:13:08,898
A SCALE THAT WOULD TAX
EVERY OUNCE OF SKILL,
203
00:13:08,899 --> 00:13:12,899
INGENUITY AND TECHNOLOGY
OF HIS ENTIRE EMPIRE.
204
00:13:16,067 --> 00:13:17,525
THINK ABOUT THIS--
205
00:13:17,526 --> 00:13:19,898
IN MEDIEVAL EUROPE AT
AROUND THE SAME TIME,
206
00:13:19,899 --> 00:13:23,898
PEOPLE WERE BUILDING CATHEDRALS
THAT TOOK CENTURIES TO COMPLETE.
207
00:13:23,899 --> 00:13:25,691
MEANWHILE, HERE IN ASIA,
208
00:13:25,692 --> 00:13:28,400
THE BUILDERS OF ANGKOR WAT
SOMEHOW CREATED A TEMPLE
209
00:13:28,401 --> 00:13:29,898
THAT WAS FAR LARGER,
210
00:13:29,899 --> 00:13:31,898
AND IN SOME WAYS
MORE COMPLICATED,
211
00:13:31,899 --> 00:13:34,024
IN LESS THAN FOUR DECADES.
212
00:13:34,025 --> 00:13:35,898
SO HOW DID THEY DO IT?
213
00:13:35,899 --> 00:13:38,233
WELL, ARCHAEOLOGISTS AND
ENGINEERS HAVE BEEN TRYING
214
00:13:38,234 --> 00:13:40,525
TO SOLVE THE MYSTERIES OF
ANGKOR WAT'S CONSTRUCTION
215
00:13:40,526 --> 00:13:42,316
SINCE THE 19th CENTURY.
216
00:13:42,317 --> 00:13:44,274
AND THEY'VE MANAGED
TO UNCOVER SOME,
217
00:13:44,275 --> 00:13:46,817
BUT NOT ALL OF ITS SECRETS.
218
00:13:46,818 --> 00:13:49,483
IT WAS AROUND THE YEAR 1120 A.D.
219
00:13:49,484 --> 00:13:51,441
WHEN AN ARMY OF
CONSTRUCTION WORKERS TOOK ON
220
00:13:51,442 --> 00:13:54,608
WHAT MUST HAVE SEEMED LIKE
MISSION IMPOSSIBLE.
221
00:13:54,609 --> 00:13:56,441
ON A SWAMPY FOREST PLAIN,
222
00:13:56,442 --> 00:13:58,898
THEY WOULD BUILD
THE LARGEST SACRED STRUCTURE
223
00:13:58,899 --> 00:14:00,734
IN THE KNOWN WORLD.
224
00:14:13,067 --> 00:14:16,898
USING ONLY SIMPLE TOOLS,
WORKERS PREPARE THE SITE,
225
00:14:16,899 --> 00:14:20,692
DIGGING THE FOUNDATION IN
THE MIDST OF A DENSE JUNGLE.
226
00:14:26,484 --> 00:14:29,566
ONE CLUE TO EXACTLY HOW
THEY PREPARED THE FOUNDATION
227
00:14:29,567 --> 00:14:32,650
WAS DISCOVERED IN
THE NEARBY BAYON TEMPLE,
228
00:14:32,651 --> 00:14:36,358
BUILT SEVERAL DECADES
AFTER ANGKOR WAT.
229
00:14:36,359 --> 00:14:39,898
IN THIS CARVING,
LABORERS WORK SIDE BY SIDE,
230
00:14:39,899 --> 00:14:42,859
BEATING THE GROUND
WITH LONG WOODEN POLES.
231
00:14:44,275 --> 00:14:46,358
IT'S BELIEVED
THE RELIEF ILLUSTRATES
232
00:14:46,359 --> 00:14:49,274
HOW THE BUILDERS SOLVED ONE
OF THE MOST VEXING PROBLEMS
233
00:14:49,275 --> 00:14:51,484
OF ANGKOR WAT'S CONSTRUCTION.
234
00:14:54,942 --> 00:14:58,898
WORKERS USED STICKS TO TAMP DOWN
AND COMPACT THE WET SOIL,
235
00:14:58,899 --> 00:15:01,859
CREATING A MORE
SUITABLE FOUNDATION.
236
00:15:04,942 --> 00:15:08,858
THEY DUG A MASSIVE HOLE
IN THE GROUND 33 FEET DEEP,
237
00:15:08,859 --> 00:15:12,066
FILLED IT WITH LAYERS OF
SAND, PEBBLES AND CLAY,
238
00:15:12,067 --> 00:15:15,108
AND COMPACTED IT
UNTIL IT WAS HARD.
239
00:15:15,109 --> 00:15:17,191
THIS ALLOWED EXCESS WATER
TO DRAIN
240
00:15:17,192 --> 00:15:19,734
AND ALSO STABILIZED THE SURFACE.
241
00:15:21,067 --> 00:15:23,733
IT WAS ONLY AFTER
THE FOUNDATION WAS LAID
242
00:15:23,734 --> 00:15:27,898
THAT THE STRUCTURE'S
ELABORATE DESIGN WAS FINALIZED.
243
00:15:27,899 --> 00:15:31,274
THE MASSIVE COMPOUND WOULD BE
ALMOST A SQUARE MILE,
244
00:15:31,275 --> 00:15:35,651
AND WOULD BE SURROUNDED
BY A MOAT 660 FEET WIDE.
245
00:15:39,692 --> 00:15:42,525
ONLY A RULER WITH
SURYAVARMAN II'S MIGHT,
246
00:15:42,526 --> 00:15:45,191
POWER AND VISION COULD HAVE
IMAGINED A BUILDING
247
00:15:45,192 --> 00:15:47,899
CONSTRUCTED ON
THIS GRAND A SCALE.
248
00:15:49,234 --> 00:15:50,898
IT IS ESTIMATED
THE BUILDING REQUIRED
249
00:15:50,899 --> 00:15:55,898
MORE THAN FIVE MILLION TONS
OF RAW MATERIALS.
250
00:15:55,899 --> 00:15:57,899
WHERE DID THE ANCIENT
TEMPLE BUILDERS MINE
251
00:15:57,900 --> 00:16:01,150
SUCH A TREMENDOUS
AMOUNT OF STONE?
252
00:16:10,067 --> 00:16:11,899
Etsuo Uchida [translated]:
GRAY SANDSTONE WAS USED
253
00:16:11,900 --> 00:16:13,858
TO BUILD ANGKOR WAT.
254
00:16:13,859 --> 00:16:15,858
IT WAS QUARRIED
FROM PHNOM KULEN,
255
00:16:15,859 --> 00:16:19,651
A MOUNTAIN OVER 24 MILES
NORTHEAST OF THE SITE.
256
00:16:22,842 --> 00:16:25,008
Kwon: THE SACRED MOUNTAIN
OF PHNOM KULEN PROVED
257
00:16:25,009 --> 00:16:29,298
A GREAT RESOURCE FOR
THE BUILDERS OF ANGKOR WAT.
258
00:16:29,299 --> 00:16:30,466
THE MOUNTAIN'S BASE IS
259
00:16:30,467 --> 00:16:34,217
A MASSIVE, 22-MILE-LONG
BELT OF SANDSTONE,
260
00:16:34,218 --> 00:16:37,342
A PLENTIFUL SOURCE OF
HIGH QUALITY BUILDING MATERIAL.
261
00:16:39,299 --> 00:16:42,884
BUT HOW DID THE ANCIENT WORKERS
EXCAVATE ALL THAT ROCK?
262
00:16:46,967 --> 00:16:49,299
Uchida: THEY USED IRON RODS
WITH SHARP ENDS
263
00:16:49,300 --> 00:16:54,424
AND DUG A GROOVE THE SIZE OF
THE BLOCK THEY WANTED TO REMOVE.
264
00:16:54,425 --> 00:16:58,091
THEN, THEY WOULD PLACE A WEDGE
BETWEEN THE SEDIMENTARY LAYERS
265
00:16:58,092 --> 00:17:02,133
WHERE IT'S EASY
TO BREAK THE ROCK.
266
00:17:02,134 --> 00:17:05,050
OR IN SOME CASES,
SEVERAL MEN WORKED TOGETHER,
267
00:17:05,051 --> 00:17:06,591
POUNDING THE ROCK
AND BREAKING IT
268
00:17:06,592 --> 00:17:09,009
IN ORDER TO PRY IT LOOSE.
269
00:17:14,342 --> 00:17:15,966
Kwon: WITH ONLY HAND TOOLS,
270
00:17:15,967 --> 00:17:19,425
WORKERS REMOVED VAST AMOUNTS
OF ROCK FROM THE MOUNTAIN.
271
00:17:22,299 --> 00:17:26,217
IT IS ESTIMATED THAT IT TOOK
A STONE CUTTER AT LEAST 10 DAYS
272
00:17:26,218 --> 00:17:28,758
JUST TO CARVE A GROOVE
AROUND ONE BLOCK OF STONE
273
00:17:28,759 --> 00:17:31,298
WEIGHING MORE THAN A TON.
274
00:17:31,299 --> 00:17:34,382
AFTER THE GROOVE WAS CARVED,
A WEDGE WAS PLACED IN THE GROOVE
275
00:17:34,383 --> 00:17:36,967
SO THE ROCK COULD BE SEPARATED.
276
00:17:40,300 --> 00:17:42,258
IT TOOK A WORKFORCE OF THOUSANDS
277
00:17:42,259 --> 00:17:46,051
TO CUT JUST A FEW HUNDRED
BLOCKS OF STONE EACH DAY.
278
00:17:48,884 --> 00:17:52,883
MORE THAN 600,000 HIGH QUALITY
SANDSTONE BLOCKS WERE USED
279
00:17:52,884 --> 00:17:55,549
IN THE CONSTRUCTION
OF ANGKOR WAT--
280
00:17:55,550 --> 00:17:59,092
FIVE MILLION TONS OF SANDSTONE.
281
00:18:01,467 --> 00:18:03,883
BECAUSE THE BUILDERS
USED NO MORTAR,
282
00:18:03,884 --> 00:18:08,717
BLOCKS HAD TO BE PRECISELY CUT
WITH UTTERLY SMOOTH SURFACES.
283
00:18:12,009 --> 00:18:14,217
Olivier Cunin [translated]:
A SYSTEM LIFTED A STONE BLOCK
284
00:18:14,218 --> 00:18:16,591
JUST SLIGHTLY
ABOVE ANOTHER STONE,
285
00:18:16,592 --> 00:18:19,298
AND THEN WORKERS PUSHED IT
BACK AND FORTH
286
00:18:19,299 --> 00:18:25,008
IN ORDER TO GRIND THE TWO
SURFACES AND MAKE IT SMOOTH.
287
00:18:25,009 --> 00:18:26,758
Kwon: ANOTHER RELIEF
IN BAYON TEMPLE
288
00:18:26,759 --> 00:18:30,424
HAS A DETAILED DEPICTION
OF HOW THIS METHOD WORKED.
289
00:18:30,425 --> 00:18:32,298
WORKERS USED POLES AND ROPES
290
00:18:32,299 --> 00:18:35,298
TO LIFT ONE STONE
JUST ABOVE ANOTHER,
291
00:18:35,299 --> 00:18:37,800
THEN THE TOP STONE WAS
RUBBED BACK AND FORTH
292
00:18:37,801 --> 00:18:40,050
AGAINST THE STONE BELOW.
293
00:18:40,051 --> 00:18:42,175
AFTER THOUSANDS OF REPETITIONS,
294
00:18:42,176 --> 00:18:44,842
THE BLOCK OBTAINED
A SMOOTH SURFACE.
295
00:18:50,218 --> 00:18:53,298
EXACTLY WHICH PHNOM KULEN QUARRY
THE STONES CAME FROM
296
00:18:53,299 --> 00:18:55,009
REMAINS A MYSTERY.
297
00:18:56,425 --> 00:18:59,341
BUT A JAPANESE RESEARCH TEAM
FROM WASEDA UNIVERSITY
298
00:18:59,342 --> 00:19:03,424
RECENTLY TESTED THE STONE'S
MAGNETIC PROPERTIES.
299
00:19:03,425 --> 00:19:06,133
THEIR FINDINGS REVEAL
EACH STONE'S APPROXIMATE AGE
300
00:19:06,134 --> 00:19:09,298
AND GEOLOGICAL DISTRIBUTION.
301
00:19:09,299 --> 00:19:12,466
BUT MATCHING THE STONES BACK
TO A PARTICULAR PLACE OR QUARRY
302
00:19:12,467 --> 00:19:16,967
IN THIS MOUNTAINOUS BELT
IS NOT SIMPLE OR SAFE.
303
00:19:19,299 --> 00:19:20,966
Uchida: MAGNETIC SUSCEPTIBILITY
304
00:19:20,967 --> 00:19:24,633
IS THE INCLINATION OF ROCK
TO BE DRAWN TO A MAGNET.
305
00:19:24,634 --> 00:19:26,298
BY MEASURING THIS,
306
00:19:26,299 --> 00:19:28,298
WE CAN TELL THAT THEY USED
SEVEN DIFFERENT QUARRIES
307
00:19:28,299 --> 00:19:30,925
DURING THE VARIOUS
DIFFERENT AGES.
308
00:19:30,926 --> 00:19:33,758
UNFORTUNATELY, IT'S IMPOSSIBLE
TO CONDUCT RESEARCH
309
00:19:33,759 --> 00:19:37,299
TO FIND THE EXACT LOCATION OF
THE QUARRIES IN PHNOM KULEN,
310
00:19:37,300 --> 00:19:41,050
BECAUSE THE PLACE IS
LITTERED WITH MINES.
311
00:19:41,051 --> 00:19:42,298
BUT ACCORDING TO RESEARCH
312
00:19:42,299 --> 00:19:44,716
CONDUCTED BY THE FRENCH SCHOOL
OF THE FAR EAST,
313
00:19:44,717 --> 00:19:47,634
THERE WERE NUMEROUS QUARRIES
AT PHNOM KULEN.
314
00:19:50,299 --> 00:19:53,758
Kwon:
LANDMINES LEFT FROM CAMBODIA'S
20th CENTURY CIVIL WAR
315
00:19:53,759 --> 00:19:57,926
STILL LITTER THE COUNTRYSIDE,
MAKING RESEARCH DANGEROUS.
316
00:20:00,801 --> 00:20:04,008
ALTHOUGH THE EXACT QUARRY
LOCATIONS ARE UNKNOWN,
317
00:20:04,009 --> 00:20:08,298
TESTING REVEALS THAT STONE USED
IN 30 ANGKOR AREA TEMPLES
318
00:20:08,299 --> 00:20:12,382
CAME FROM SEVEN DIFFERENT
PHNOM KULEN QUARRIES.
319
00:20:12,383 --> 00:20:16,175
HOWEVER, NEARLY ALL OF THE
STONES OF THE ANGKOR WAT TEMPLE
320
00:20:16,176 --> 00:20:19,298
HAVE MAGNETIC LEVELS
OF AROUND THREE.
321
00:20:19,299 --> 00:20:22,716
THIS MEANS THAT THE STONES USED
TO BUILD THE ANGKOR WAT TEMPLE
322
00:20:22,717 --> 00:20:25,175
ALMOST CERTAINLY CAME
FROM A SINGLE QUARRY
323
00:20:25,176 --> 00:20:27,092
IN THE MOUNT KULEN REGION.
324
00:20:33,634 --> 00:20:37,298
THE MASSIVE CUT STONES WERE
TRANSPORTED OVER 25 MILES
325
00:20:37,299 --> 00:20:41,299
TO ANGKOR USING ELEPHANTS
AS WELL AS SLAVE LABOR.
326
00:20:43,299 --> 00:20:45,298
RODS WERE DRILLED
INTO THE HUGE BLOCKS,
327
00:20:45,299 --> 00:20:47,675
SO THEY COULD BE
PUSHED AND PULLED.
328
00:20:49,299 --> 00:20:51,341
LABORERS ALSO USED BAMBOO RAFTS
329
00:20:51,342 --> 00:20:55,009
TO FLOAT THE STONE ON A
LABYRINTH OF CANALS AND RIVERS.
330
00:20:59,299 --> 00:21:01,091
A RIVER CALLED THE SIEM REAP
331
00:21:01,092 --> 00:21:03,382
FLOWS MOST OF THE WAY
TO THE BUILDING SITE
332
00:21:03,383 --> 00:21:05,883
AND THEN CONNECTS TO
A LARGE NATURAL LAKE
333
00:21:05,884 --> 00:21:07,675
JUST SOUTH OF ANGKOR.
334
00:21:10,299 --> 00:21:12,008
AFTER A JOURNEY
OF SEVERAL WEEKS,
335
00:21:12,009 --> 00:21:13,758
THEY ENTER THE LAST CANAL,
336
00:21:13,759 --> 00:21:18,298
AND THE RAFTS REACH THEIR FINAL
DESTINATION AT ANGKOR WAT.
337
00:21:18,299 --> 00:21:21,508
OVER THE 37 YEARS IT TOOK
TO BUILD THE TEMPLE,
338
00:21:21,509 --> 00:21:27,298
EXPERTS ESTIMATE THAT AT LEAST
20,000 PEOPLE A DAY WERE NEEDED.
339
00:21:27,299 --> 00:21:32,298
A THRONG OF PEOPLE WHO HAD TO BE
TRANSPORTED, HOUSED AND FED.
340
00:21:32,299 --> 00:21:36,674
IT WAS A HUGE WORKFORCE
BY 12th CENTURY STANDARDS.
341
00:21:36,675 --> 00:21:39,633
THIS GREAT LABOR FORCE SUGGESTS
THE CITY AS A WHOLE
342
00:21:39,634 --> 00:21:42,298
ALSO HAD A LARGE POPULATION.
343
00:21:42,299 --> 00:21:44,716
BUT HOW LARGE?
344
00:21:44,717 --> 00:21:46,758
ONE CLUE COMES FROM
A NEARBY TEMPLE,
345
00:21:46,759 --> 00:21:49,966
BUILT LATER IN THE SAME CENTURY.
346
00:21:49,967 --> 00:21:52,298
ACCORDING TO AN INSCRIPTION
IN PREAH KHAN,
347
00:21:52,299 --> 00:21:58,382
97,480 VILLAGE PERSONNEL WERE
ASSIGNED TO THIS SMALLER TEMPLE,
348
00:21:58,383 --> 00:22:00,841
WHILE 100,000 FARMERS AND SLAVES
349
00:22:00,842 --> 00:22:03,675
CONTRIBUTED TO
THE TEMPLE'S MAINTENANCE.
350
00:22:05,899 --> 00:22:07,898
BASED ON THIS, EXPERTS ESTIMATE
351
00:22:07,899 --> 00:22:13,858
THAT THE POPULATION OF THE KHMER
CAPITAL WAS AT LEAST 700,000.
352
00:22:13,859 --> 00:22:16,650
THIS MEANS ANGKOR'S POPULATION
PROBABLY EXCEEDED THAT
353
00:22:16,651 --> 00:22:19,566
OF ALL 12th CENTURY CITIES.
354
00:22:19,567 --> 00:22:22,898
PARIS HAD ONLY 100,000 PEOPLE
AT THE TIME,
355
00:22:22,899 --> 00:22:25,275
AND LONDON HAD JUST 70,000.
356
00:22:26,942 --> 00:22:30,899
ONLY CHINA'S KAIFENG CITY
WAS SIMILAR IN SIZE.
357
00:22:33,899 --> 00:22:37,316
ONE SECRET TO HOW ANGKOR
SUPPORTED THIS LARGE POPULATION
358
00:22:37,317 --> 00:22:40,484
LIES IN AN INGENIOUS SYSTEM
OF WATERWAYS.
359
00:22:42,359 --> 00:22:45,316
THEN, AS NOW, AGRICULTURE
CENTERED ON RICE
360
00:22:45,317 --> 00:22:47,899
GROWN ON THE ANGKOR PLAIN.
361
00:22:50,067 --> 00:22:54,108
IN ADDITION TO RICE, OTHER
GRAINS, FRUITS AND VEGETABLES
362
00:22:54,109 --> 00:22:57,776
WERE ALSO CULTIVATED,
JUST AS THEY ARE TODAY.
363
00:23:02,484 --> 00:23:03,898
THE SUCCESS OF THIS ECONOMY
364
00:23:03,899 --> 00:23:06,899
DEPENDED ON THE HUGE
LAKE TONLE SAP,
365
00:23:06,900 --> 00:23:08,899
JUST SOUTH OF ANCIENT ANGKOR.
366
00:23:12,067 --> 00:23:15,066
IRRIGATION CANALS ASSURED
ONE OR MORE HARVESTS,
367
00:23:15,067 --> 00:23:17,025
EVEN IN DROUGHT YEARS.
368
00:23:18,899 --> 00:23:23,149
THE LAKE WAS ALSO
A RICH SOURCE OF FOOD.
369
00:23:23,150 --> 00:23:25,233
A 13th CENTURY VISITOR WROTE,
370
00:23:25,234 --> 00:23:27,608
"THE LAKE WATERS ARE
SO FULL OF FISH,
371
00:23:27,609 --> 00:23:29,899
IT IS DIFFICULT
TO ROW YOUR BOAT."
372
00:23:32,317 --> 00:23:35,525
SURYAVARMAN'S KINGDOM
WAS STRONG AND WEALTHY.
373
00:23:35,526 --> 00:23:38,274
BUT COULD IT REALLY BUILD
SO MASSIVE A TEMPLE
374
00:23:38,275 --> 00:23:40,942
ON A SCALE NEVER BEFORE SEEN?
375
00:23:42,651 --> 00:23:45,898
THE YOUNG KING WAS DETERMINED
TO SEE ANGKOR WAT COMPLETED
376
00:23:45,899 --> 00:23:47,692
IN HIS LIFETIME.
377
00:23:54,876 --> 00:23:58,291
HE ALSO SOUGHT TO EXTEND
HIS KINGDOM'S BORDERS.
378
00:23:58,292 --> 00:24:00,998
HE WAS DRAWN TO THE EASTERN EDGE
OF THE EMPIRE,
379
00:24:00,999 --> 00:24:02,998
WHERE AN INVASION AND CONQUEST
380
00:24:02,999 --> 00:24:05,584
WOULD HAVE BEEN
A POLITICAL ASSET.
381
00:24:07,250 --> 00:24:09,791
OCCUPYING WHAT IS NOW
SOUTH VIETNAM,
382
00:24:09,792 --> 00:24:13,082
THE POWERFUL CHAMPA KINGDOM
CONTROLLED THE COAST
383
00:24:13,083 --> 00:24:15,999
AND TRADE ROUTES
LONG COVETED BY THE KHMER.
384
00:24:19,000 --> 00:24:20,791
BEGINNING EARLY IN HIS REIGN,
385
00:24:20,792 --> 00:24:23,791
SURYAVARMAN II LED
A SERIES OF INVASIONS
386
00:24:23,792 --> 00:24:25,918
INTO NEIGHBORING TERRITORIES.
387
00:24:28,999 --> 00:24:31,416
ACCORDING TO INSCRIPTIONS,
IN ONE BATTLE,
388
00:24:31,417 --> 00:24:36,250
THE KING LED A FORCE OF
700 SHIPS AND 20,000 SOLDIERS.
389
00:24:44,501 --> 00:24:47,791
ARMED ONLY WITH BOWS,
ARROWS AND SPEARS,
390
00:24:47,792 --> 00:24:50,959
THE WARRIORS FOUGHT
THEIR ENEMIES HAND TO HAND.
391
00:24:59,876 --> 00:25:02,249
ANOTHER INSCRIPTION DESCRIBES
A DIFFERENT INVASION
392
00:25:02,250 --> 00:25:04,334
IN SURYAVARMAN'S CAREER.
393
00:25:06,626 --> 00:25:09,458
"THE RULER OF ANGKOR TURNED
HIS AMBITIONS FOR CONQUEST
394
00:25:09,459 --> 00:25:11,208
TOWARDS THE CHAM PEOPLE.
395
00:25:11,209 --> 00:25:13,750
HE INVADED,
TAKING THE CAPITAL CITY
396
00:25:13,751 --> 00:25:17,541
AND BECOMING THE RULER
OF THE TERRITORY."
397
00:25:17,542 --> 00:25:19,917
THE KHMER KINGDOM
SOLIDIFIED ITS CONTROL
398
00:25:19,918 --> 00:25:21,998
OF MOST OF
THE INDOCHINA PENINSULA,
399
00:25:21,999 --> 00:25:25,959
INCLUDING MUCH OF MODERN DAY
THAILAND, LAOS AND VIETNAM.
400
00:25:27,334 --> 00:25:28,999
THE KHMER ARMIES TOOK PRISONERS,
401
00:25:29,000 --> 00:25:31,583
AND TOGETHER WITH OTHER SLAVES
IN THE EMPIRE,
402
00:25:31,584 --> 00:25:35,542
THEY WERE LIKELY USED AS FORCED
LABOR TO CONSTRUCT ANGKOR WAT.
403
00:25:38,584 --> 00:25:41,041
THE HUGE CONSTRUCTION PROJECT
WAS MADE POSSIBLE
404
00:25:41,042 --> 00:25:43,291
BY SLAVE LABOR.
405
00:25:43,292 --> 00:25:45,541
BUT IT COULDN'T SOLVE
AN UNANTICIPATED
406
00:25:45,542 --> 00:25:47,959
AND ALARMING
ENGINEERING PROBLEM.
407
00:25:50,042 --> 00:25:53,249
THE FIRST STONE STRUCTURES
BUILT ON THE SITE COLLAPSED.
408
00:25:53,250 --> 00:25:56,416
AND THE HUMAN COST WAS HIGH.
409
00:25:56,417 --> 00:26:00,209
THE SUCCESS OF THE ENTIRE
PROJECT WAS AT STAKE.
410
00:26:03,209 --> 00:26:05,625
NO AMOUNT OF SLAVE LABOR
COULD OVERCOME
411
00:26:05,626 --> 00:26:08,333
THE MOST SERIOUS CHALLENGE
THE BUILDERS FACED.
412
00:26:08,334 --> 00:26:12,041
THE SITE ITSELF WAS A SWAMP AND
SEEMED COMPLETELY UNSUITABLE
413
00:26:12,042 --> 00:26:15,875
FOR A BUILDING THE SIZE AND
WEIGHT OF THE PROPOSED TEMPLE.
414
00:26:15,876 --> 00:26:18,500
THE SOIL WAS SPONGY
AND HARD TO WORK WITH,
415
00:26:18,501 --> 00:26:20,291
AND WATER WOULD FLOOD
IN ONE SEASON,
416
00:26:20,292 --> 00:26:22,333
THEN DRAIN AWAY THE NEXT.
417
00:26:22,334 --> 00:26:25,333
THESE DAYS, ENGINEERS WOULD USE
HEAVY MACHINERY
418
00:26:25,334 --> 00:26:28,791
AND REINFORCED CONCRETE
TO TAME NATURE'S FURY,
419
00:26:28,792 --> 00:26:31,416
BUT THE KHMER BUILDERS HAD
TO BE A BIT MORE CREATIVE.
420
00:26:31,417 --> 00:26:32,998
AND THEIR SOLUTION BECAME
421
00:26:32,999 --> 00:26:36,459
ONE OF THE ANCIENT WORLD'S
GREATEST FEATS OF ENGINEERING.
422
00:26:38,542 --> 00:26:41,999
ANGKOR WAT IS SURROUNDED
BY A GIGANTIC MOAT.
423
00:26:42,000 --> 00:26:43,998
MORE THAN 600 FEET WIDE,
424
00:26:43,999 --> 00:26:47,958
IT CONTAINS TENS OF MILLIONS
OF GALLONS OF WATER.
425
00:26:47,959 --> 00:26:50,999
TO THE HINDU, THE ORIGINAL
DESIGNERS OF THE TEMPLE,
426
00:26:51,000 --> 00:26:54,458
THE MOAT SYMBOLIZED
THE COSMIC OCEAN.
427
00:26:54,459 --> 00:26:56,666
BUT BESIDES ITS RELIGIOUS
SIGNIFICANCE,
428
00:26:56,667 --> 00:27:00,083
IT TURNS OUT THE MOAT
ALSO HAS A PRACTICAL PURPOSE.
429
00:27:01,709 --> 00:27:04,291
BECAUSE THIS IS SWAMPLAND,
WITHOUT THE MOAT,
430
00:27:04,292 --> 00:27:06,917
THE MONSOON RAINS WOULD
SEEP INTO THE EARTH
431
00:27:06,918 --> 00:27:09,166
AND PUSH THE BUILDINGS UP.
432
00:27:09,167 --> 00:27:10,998
THEN, IN THE DRY SEASON,
433
00:27:10,999 --> 00:27:12,998
THE WATER WOULD DRAIN
OUT OF THE LAND,
434
00:27:12,999 --> 00:27:15,000
MAKING THE BUILDINGS CRUMBLE.
435
00:27:16,918 --> 00:27:18,998
THE HUGE MOAT
SURROUNDING THE COMPLEX
436
00:27:18,999 --> 00:27:21,998
ACTUALLY STABILIZES
THE WATER CONTENT OF THE EARTH
437
00:27:21,999 --> 00:27:23,583
UNDER THE TEMPLE,
438
00:27:23,584 --> 00:27:28,166
KEEPING IT CONSISTENT YEAR ROUND
SO THE EARTH DOESN'T HEAVE.
439
00:27:28,167 --> 00:27:30,666
AND THEY FOUND OTHER
REMARKABLE SOLUTIONS
440
00:27:30,667 --> 00:27:35,374
TO THE CHALLENGES OF
PRE-INDUSTRIAL CONSTRUCTION.
441
00:27:35,375 --> 00:27:37,999
Hans Leisen: WE HAVE
AN ARTIFICIAL MOUNTAIN.
442
00:27:38,000 --> 00:27:40,998
AND WE ARE SITTING
ON THE FIRST FLOOR.
443
00:27:40,999 --> 00:27:44,750
THEY BUILT CASE FROM STONE,
444
00:27:44,751 --> 00:27:49,625
AND THEN THEY FILLED WITH SANDS
AND DENSIFIED VERY MUCH.
445
00:27:49,626 --> 00:27:51,666
AND THEN, THE NEXT CASE.
446
00:27:51,667 --> 00:27:56,958
AND SO, STEP BY STEP,
THEY GOT THE MOUNTAIN.
447
00:27:56,959 --> 00:28:01,291
AND WE CAN SEE INSIDE THE SAND,
AND THERE'S LATERITE,
448
00:28:01,292 --> 00:28:06,958
WHICH IS THIS SPECIFIC BROWNISH
STONE IN TROPIC COUNTRIES,
449
00:28:06,959 --> 00:28:11,374
AND THEN OUTSIDE
THERE'S THE SANDSTONE.
450
00:28:11,375 --> 00:28:12,998
Kwon: THE CENTRAL TOWER
OF ANGKOR WAT
451
00:28:12,999 --> 00:28:16,250
REACHES 213 FEET INTO THE SKY.
452
00:28:17,999 --> 00:28:19,708
THE ANCIENT ARCHITECTS
HAD TO FIGURE OUT
453
00:28:19,709 --> 00:28:23,209
HOW TO STACK THE MASSIVE STONES
WITHOUT MACHINERY.
454
00:28:25,999 --> 00:28:29,833
FIRST, THEY BUILT EARTHEN RAMPS.
455
00:28:29,834 --> 00:28:34,998
THEN, LABORERS AND ELEPHANTS
DRAGGED THE STONES UP THE RAMPS.
456
00:28:34,999 --> 00:28:37,583
FINALLY, IT'S BELIEVED
THEY ERECTED SCAFFOLDING
457
00:28:37,584 --> 00:28:40,042
AND LIFTED EACH STONE
TO THE TOP.
458
00:28:42,292 --> 00:28:46,292
REMARKABLY, THE TEMPLE WAS BUILT
FROM THE INSIDE OUT.
459
00:28:50,999 --> 00:28:53,751
THE TALLEST CENTRAL TOWER
WAS ERECTED FIRST.
460
00:28:54,999 --> 00:28:57,833
THEN, THE SURROUNDING TOWERS
WERE BUILT.
461
00:28:57,834 --> 00:29:01,998
AND FINALLY, THE OUTER GALLERIES
AND WALLS WERE ADDED.
462
00:29:01,999 --> 00:29:03,416
THE BUILDERS RAISED
THESE COLUMNS
463
00:29:03,417 --> 00:29:07,167
MADE FROM SINGLE BLOCKS
WEIGHING A MUCH AS SEVEN TONS.
464
00:29:08,999 --> 00:29:10,998
THEY USED A SIMPLE
BUT BRILLIANT METHOD
465
00:29:10,999 --> 00:29:16,334
FOR SETTING UP THE 1,532 COLUMNS
AROUND THE TEMPLE COMPLEX.
466
00:29:17,999 --> 00:29:20,500
ANGKOR WAT HAS SURVIVED,
FAIRLY INTACT,
467
00:29:20,501 --> 00:29:22,500
FOR NEARLY 900 YEARS--
468
00:29:22,501 --> 00:29:26,166
AN ACHIEVEMENT THAT SURELY
WOULD HAVE PLEASED ITS BUILDERS.
469
00:29:26,167 --> 00:29:29,791
BUT THE SWAMPY SITE AND
CAMBODIA'S TROPICAL CLIMATE
470
00:29:29,792 --> 00:29:33,082
HAVE DEFINITELY TAKEN A TOLL
ON THESE BUILDINGS.
471
00:29:33,083 --> 00:29:36,249
ALTHOUGH SOME INTRICATE
SANDSTONE FEATURES
472
00:29:36,250 --> 00:29:37,998
SHOW FEW SIGNS OF THEIR AGE,
473
00:29:37,999 --> 00:29:40,875
OTHERS HAVE WORN AWAY
AND DECAYED.
474
00:29:40,876 --> 00:29:43,791
CERTAIN ORIGINAL FEATURES,
LIKE THE GOLD LEAF ORNAMENTATION
475
00:29:43,792 --> 00:29:45,998
THAT WOULD HAVE AWED
EARLY VISITORS,
476
00:29:45,999 --> 00:29:50,333
ARE GONE FOREVER, LOOTED AFTER
THE KHMER EMPIRE'S DECLINE.
477
00:29:50,334 --> 00:29:52,998
WHEN IT WAS COMPLETED
AROUND 1150 A.D.,
478
00:29:52,999 --> 00:29:55,875
ANGKOR WAT WAS THE BIGGEST
BUILDING IN THE WORLD--
479
00:29:55,876 --> 00:29:58,998
ABOUT THE SIZE OF
11 FOOTBALL FIELDS.
480
00:29:58,999 --> 00:30:02,291
NOW, TEAMS OF SCIENTISTS AND
ARCHAEOLOGISTS HAVE SPENT YEARS
481
00:30:02,292 --> 00:30:03,958
TRYING TO FIGURE OUT
482
00:30:03,959 --> 00:30:06,625
WHAT THE TEMPLE MIGHT HAVE
LOOKED LIKE IN ITS HEYDAY.
483
00:30:06,626 --> 00:30:08,500
AND THEY'VE PIECED TOGETHER
THE PUZZLE,
484
00:30:08,501 --> 00:30:10,458
DATA POINT BY DATA POINT.
485
00:30:10,459 --> 00:30:13,998
AND NOW, WITH THE HELP OF
21st CENTURY TECHNOLOGY,
486
00:30:13,999 --> 00:30:17,999
WE CAN FINALLY GET A GLIMPSE OF
ANGKOR WAT'S ORIGINAL SPLENDOR.
487
00:30:30,876 --> 00:30:33,166
Cunin: MANY OF THE STRUCTURES
WERE CLOSE TO WHITE.
488
00:30:33,167 --> 00:30:37,374
BUT SOME OF THE SCULPTURES
WERE GLAZED IN MANY COLORS.
489
00:30:37,375 --> 00:30:41,292
MOST OF THE SURVIVING COLORS
ARE A YELLOWISH BROWN OR RED.
490
00:30:43,167 --> 00:30:45,999
THAT'S BECAUSE THE PIGMENTS
HAD AN IRON OXIDE BASE,
491
00:30:46,000 --> 00:30:49,124
WHICH LASTS FOR A LONG TIME.
492
00:30:49,125 --> 00:30:51,998
BUT THE OTHER COLORS SUCH AS
BLUE, YELLOW AND GREEN
493
00:30:51,999 --> 00:30:54,292
HAVE ALL DISAPPEARED.
494
00:31:02,918 --> 00:31:06,082
Kwon: THE EXTERIOR WALLS AND
COLUMNS WERE MOST LIKELY WHITE
495
00:31:06,083 --> 00:31:08,750
FROM A COATING OF LIME.
496
00:31:08,751 --> 00:31:10,208
BUT IT WAS THE ROOFING MATERIAL
497
00:31:10,209 --> 00:31:12,625
THAT DOMINATED
THE LOOK OF THE TEMPLE.
498
00:31:12,626 --> 00:31:15,249
THE TOWERS WERE MOST LIKELY
COVERED IN GOLD,
499
00:31:15,250 --> 00:31:17,124
WHICH DETERIORATED
OVER THE CENTURIES
500
00:31:17,125 --> 00:31:19,333
AFTER ANGKOR WAT WAS BUILT.
501
00:31:19,334 --> 00:31:20,750
SOME HISTORIANS BELIEVE THAT
502
00:31:20,751 --> 00:31:23,041
THE TOWERS MAY HAVE
EVEN BEEN REGILDED
503
00:31:23,042 --> 00:31:28,082
BY ONE OR MORE OF THE RULERS
WHO FOLLOWED SURYAVARMAN II.
504
00:31:28,083 --> 00:31:31,416
IT IS EASY TO IMAGINE THAT
THE PLASTER ON ALL OF THE TOWERS
505
00:31:31,417 --> 00:31:34,374
WAS USED AS A BASE LAYER
FOR THE GILDING,
506
00:31:34,375 --> 00:31:37,374
WHICH MADE THE ENTIRE STRUCTURE
EXTREMELY ORNATE
507
00:31:37,375 --> 00:31:39,998
AND VISUALLY STRIKING.
508
00:31:39,999 --> 00:31:42,998
THIS COMPUTER IMAGE WAS CREATED
BASED ON THE OPINIONS
509
00:31:42,999 --> 00:31:45,875
AND RESEARCH OF SCHOLARS.
510
00:31:45,876 --> 00:31:47,998
WHITE PLASTERED WALLS CONTRAST
511
00:31:47,999 --> 00:31:50,500
WITH THE GOLDEN LINTELS
AND TOWERS.
512
00:31:50,601 --> 00:31:51,933
ON A BRIGHT DAY,
513
00:31:51,934 --> 00:31:54,976
THE ENTIRE TEMPLE WOULD HAVE
SPARKLED IN THE SUN.
514
00:31:57,183 --> 00:31:59,098
SURYAVARMAN II DIDN'T LIVE
515
00:31:59,099 --> 00:32:03,098
TO SEE HIS FANTASTIC TEMPLE
COMPLETED.
516
00:32:03,099 --> 00:32:07,224
BUT HE PROBABLY SAW IT IN THE
LATER STAGES OF CONSTRUCTION.
517
00:32:07,225 --> 00:32:08,600
WHAT DID THE KING FEEL
518
00:32:08,601 --> 00:32:12,266
AS HE SAW THIS MAGNIFICENT
STRUCTURE TAKING SHAPE?
519
00:32:12,267 --> 00:32:15,309
IT WAS A PALACE FIT FOR A GOD.
520
00:32:19,601 --> 00:32:22,767
AND HE MUST HAVE KNOWN
IT WOULD ALSO BECOME HIS TOMB.
521
00:32:25,059 --> 00:32:26,516
ONLY FRAGMENTS OF THE WOOD
522
00:32:26,517 --> 00:32:30,350
THAT ONCE COVERED THE INTERIOR
STONE WALLS STILL REMAIN.
523
00:32:32,851 --> 00:32:35,099
IT'S BELIEVED THE WOOD
WAS HIGHLY DECORATED,
524
00:32:35,100 --> 00:32:39,683
INLAID AND ORNAMENTED WITH
A WIDE VARIETY OF PATTERNS.
525
00:32:39,684 --> 00:32:42,766
GILDED DOORS
DIVIDED THE CHAMBERS.
526
00:32:42,767 --> 00:32:44,558
AND THE GALLERY
WALLS AND CEILINGS
527
00:32:44,559 --> 00:32:47,059
WOULD HAVE BEEN
LAVISHLY ADORNED.
528
00:32:49,142 --> 00:32:52,266
SINCE THE KING FIRST SET EYES
ON THESE GALLERIES,
529
00:32:52,267 --> 00:32:56,809
MILLIONS MORE HAVE JOURNEYED
TO ADMIRE THESE DRAMATIC SCENES.
530
00:32:58,517 --> 00:33:01,266
THE CARVINGS ENCIRCLE
THE ENTIRE OUTER GALLERY,
531
00:33:01,267 --> 00:33:03,100
FROM FLOOR TO CEILING.
532
00:33:05,684 --> 00:33:08,182
MEASURING 2,600 FEET,
533
00:33:08,183 --> 00:33:11,767
IT IS THE LONGEST CONTINUOUS
BAS RELIEF IN THE WORLD.
534
00:33:16,350 --> 00:33:18,098
IN THE NORTH GALLERY,
535
00:33:18,099 --> 00:33:21,098
THIS FAMOUS RELIEF CALLED
THE BATTLE OF KURUSHETRA
536
00:33:21,099 --> 00:33:24,433
DEPICTS AN ANCIENT COMBAT SCENE
FROM INDIAN HISTORY
537
00:33:24,434 --> 00:33:27,851
RETOLD IN THE EPIC WORK,
THE MAHABHARATA.
538
00:33:30,559 --> 00:33:32,098
ANGKOR WAT'S WALLS ARE COVERED
539
00:33:32,099 --> 00:33:36,808
WITH 12,900 SQUARE FEET
OF BAS RELIEF CARVINGS.
540
00:33:36,809 --> 00:33:40,182
EXECUTED WITH GREAT SKILL
AND ARTISTIC SOPHISTICATION,
541
00:33:40,183 --> 00:33:43,851
THE RELIEFS ARE CONSIDERED A
MASTERPIECE IN THEIR OWN RIGHT.
542
00:33:46,018 --> 00:33:49,099
THESE CARVINGS COVER MULTIPLE
BLOCKS OF SANDSTONE
543
00:33:49,100 --> 00:33:51,349
AND ARE SO PERFECTLY
FITTED TOGETHER
544
00:33:51,350 --> 00:33:54,099
THAT THE SEAMS ARE
ALMOST INVISIBLE.
545
00:33:56,099 --> 00:33:59,098
EVEN THE DETAILED LINTELS
AT THE TOP OF THE WALLS
546
00:33:59,099 --> 00:34:02,225
ARE CARVED FROM
THE SAME STONE BLOCKS.
547
00:34:04,350 --> 00:34:08,017
EACH ARTIST WOULD CUT AWAY
LAYERS OF THE WALL
548
00:34:08,018 --> 00:34:11,309
AND THEN CARVE THE RELIEFS
DIRECTLY INTO THE STONE.
549
00:34:14,767 --> 00:34:18,308
HUNDREDS OF HIGHLY SKILLED
CARVERS WORKED SIDE BY SIDE
550
00:34:18,309 --> 00:34:22,224
TO COMPLETE THE WORK
IN ONLY DECADES.
551
00:34:22,225 --> 00:34:23,975
EXPERTS ADMIRE NOT ONLY
552
00:34:23,976 --> 00:34:26,558
THE EXPRESSIVE HUMAN FIGURES
IN THE CARVINGS,
553
00:34:26,559 --> 00:34:29,098
BUT ALSO THE REMARKABLE
PERSPECTIVE
554
00:34:29,099 --> 00:34:32,099
THESE EARLY ARTISTS
WERE ABLE TO ACHIEVE.
555
00:34:35,726 --> 00:34:38,098
CONTINUING ALONG TO
THE SOUTHERN GALLERY,
556
00:34:38,099 --> 00:34:41,141
VISITORS ENCOUNTER
A 260-FOOT DEPICTION
557
00:34:41,142 --> 00:34:46,098
OF SURYAVARMAN II'S
FULL ROYAL PROCESSION.
558
00:34:46,099 --> 00:34:50,141
MILITARY LEADERS, PRIESTS,
MUSICIANS, STANDARD BEARERS,
559
00:34:50,142 --> 00:34:54,225
SERVANTS, AND ROYALTY ALL TAKE
THEIR PLACE IN THIS CARVING.
560
00:34:55,642 --> 00:34:57,933
THE CARVING'S CENTERPIECE
IS THE FAMOUS PORTRAIT
561
00:34:57,934 --> 00:35:01,098
OF SURYAVARMAN II HIMSELF.
562
00:35:01,099 --> 00:35:05,018
LINGERING TRACES OF GOLD
HINT AT ITS FORMER SPLENDOR.
563
00:35:06,726 --> 00:35:09,725
Leisen: MAYBE THE KING
WAS PARTLY GILDED.
564
00:35:09,726 --> 00:35:15,349
WE CAN SEE SOME OF THE GILDINGS
ON THE RELIEF OF SURYAVARMAN II.
565
00:35:15,350 --> 00:35:17,474
Kwon: THE FAMOUS PORTRAIT
OF THE KING WAS GILDED
566
00:35:17,475 --> 00:35:19,391
AND SURROUNDED BY RED--
567
00:35:19,392 --> 00:35:22,767
THE COLOR SYMBOLIZING
PROTECTION AND STRENGTH.
568
00:35:24,976 --> 00:35:27,349
CONTINUING TO
THE EAST SIDE GALLERY,
569
00:35:27,350 --> 00:35:30,558
A VISITOR FINDS PERHAPS
THE MOST FAMOUS AND REVERED
570
00:35:30,559 --> 00:35:32,099
OF ALL THE RELIEFS--
571
00:35:32,100 --> 00:35:35,098
THE CHURNING OF THE SEA OF MILK.
572
00:35:35,099 --> 00:35:37,182
IT DEPICTS VISHNU AND DEVAS,
573
00:35:37,183 --> 00:35:39,058
THE BENEVOLENT HINDU GODS,
574
00:35:39,059 --> 00:35:41,516
AND THE ASHURAS, THE EVIL GODS,
575
00:35:41,517 --> 00:35:43,098
ALL PULLING ON A GREAT SNAKE
576
00:35:43,099 --> 00:35:46,851
TO CHURN THE COSMIC SEA
IN SEARCH OF ETERNAL LIFE.
577
00:35:48,809 --> 00:35:51,099
THEIR STRUGGLE RELEASED
COUNTLESS DEITIES,
578
00:35:51,100 --> 00:35:54,350
INCLUDING THE BEAUTIFUL NYMPHS
CALLED APSARAS.
579
00:35:58,809 --> 00:36:02,350
IN THE NORTHERN GALLERY IS
A BATTLE OF THE GODS AND DEMONS.
580
00:36:04,225 --> 00:36:06,099
THIS EPIC BATTLE SCENE
ILLUSTRATES
581
00:36:06,100 --> 00:36:08,600
THE PANTHEON OF 21 HINDU GODS
582
00:36:08,601 --> 00:36:11,099
BATTLING ALONGSIDE
HUMAN WARRIORS.
583
00:36:14,642 --> 00:36:18,309
LED BY VISHNU, THE GODS OF GOOD
DEFEAT THE EVIL GODS.
584
00:36:20,517 --> 00:36:22,516
AND AS SURYAVARMAN II
WAS CONSIDERED
585
00:36:22,517 --> 00:36:25,017
AN EARTHLY AVATAR OF VISHNU,
586
00:36:25,018 --> 00:36:27,517
THE SCENE CELEBRATES
HIS REIGN AS WELL.
587
00:36:33,018 --> 00:36:35,266
IT COULD BE SAID THAT
THE ENTIRE TEMPLE OF ANGKOR WAT
588
00:36:35,267 --> 00:36:37,266
IS A SINGLE WORK OF ART.
589
00:36:37,267 --> 00:36:39,850
THE ARTIFACTS AND ENGRAVED
SCENES AREN'T SIMPLY ORNAMENTS
590
00:36:39,851 --> 00:36:41,266
INSTALLED IN THE TEMPLE,
591
00:36:41,267 --> 00:36:44,641
THEY'RE CARVED INTO
THE VERY STRUCTURE ITSELF.
592
00:36:44,642 --> 00:36:46,182
ONCE THE ENORMOUS BLOCKS
WERE IN PLACE,
593
00:36:46,183 --> 00:36:48,933
ARTISTS CHISELED SYMBOLS,
FIGURES AND DEITIES
594
00:36:48,934 --> 00:36:52,058
INTO VIRTUALLY EVERY SURFACE
OF THE SANDSTONE.
595
00:36:52,059 --> 00:36:53,224
ALL OF THIS DAZZLING CREATION
596
00:36:53,225 --> 00:36:57,516
FORGED INTO ONE EXTRAORDINARY
AND SACRED SCULPTURE.
597
00:36:57,517 --> 00:37:01,017
OF ALL THE CARVINGS, THESE ARE
SOME OF THE MOST POPULAR.
598
00:37:01,018 --> 00:37:04,683
THEY'RE CALLED APSARAS, OR
IN ENGLISH, CELESTIAL NYMPHS--
599
00:37:04,684 --> 00:37:08,266
SUPERNATURAL WOMEN WHO WERE SAID
TO DANCE FOR THE GODS.
600
00:37:08,267 --> 00:37:10,975
THEY SUPPOSEDLY HAD THE POWER
TO CHANGE THEIR SHAPES
601
00:37:10,976 --> 00:37:13,933
OR INFLUENCE WHETHER
A GAMBLER WON OR LOST.
602
00:37:13,934 --> 00:37:15,891
BUT SOMEONE WASN'T
TAKING ANY CHANCES.
603
00:37:15,892 --> 00:37:19,601
THERE ARE NEARLY 1,800 OF THEM
DEPICTED ALL AROUND THE TEMPLE.
604
00:37:25,142 --> 00:37:30,224
1,796 FULL BODY SCULPTURES
OF DIVINE WOMEN
605
00:37:30,225 --> 00:37:32,309
WERE CARVED AT ANGKOR WAT.
606
00:37:34,099 --> 00:37:36,141
WITH A WIDE VARIETY
OF FACIAL FEATURES,
607
00:37:36,142 --> 00:37:40,392
HAIRSTYLES AND HEADDRESSES,
NO TWO ARE EXACTLY ALIKE.
608
00:37:43,100 --> 00:37:45,224
THESE TEMPLE GUARDIANS
AND DANCERS
609
00:37:45,225 --> 00:37:47,683
WERE PROBABLY BASED
ON ACTUAL WOMEN
610
00:37:47,684 --> 00:37:51,058
RESIDING NEAR THE TEMPLE
IN THE 12th CENTURY.
611
00:37:51,059 --> 00:37:53,725
APSARAS ARE EVERYWHERE YOU LOOK
IN THE TEMPLE,
612
00:37:53,726 --> 00:37:58,225
STANDING ALONE IN MEDITATION
OR SOMETIMES IN PAIRS OR GROUPS.
613
00:37:58,517 --> 00:38:00,975
EACH POSE OF THESE DANCERS
HAS A MEANING,
614
00:38:00,976 --> 00:38:04,475
AND TOGETHER, THE MOVEMENTS
OF THE DANCE TELL A STORY.
615
00:38:07,099 --> 00:38:11,309
IT'S A FORM OF DANCE STILL VERY
MUCH ALIVE IN MODERN CAMBODIA.
616
00:38:14,100 --> 00:38:16,098
CALLED THE APSARA DANCE,
617
00:38:16,099 --> 00:38:19,433
THIS ART FORM HAS PASSED
FROM GENERATION TO GENERATION
618
00:38:19,434 --> 00:38:20,933
IN AN UNBROKEN LINE
619
00:38:20,934 --> 00:38:24,475
FROM THE TIME OF SURYAVARMAN II
AND BEFORE.
620
00:38:27,267 --> 00:38:29,141
ACCORDING TO HINDU MYTHOLOGY,
621
00:38:29,142 --> 00:38:31,933
THE GODS MADE
600 MILLION APSARAS
622
00:38:31,934 --> 00:38:34,098
WHEN THEY CREATED THE UNIVERSE.
623
00:38:34,099 --> 00:38:36,975
AND THESE CELESTIAL NYMPHS
WERE RELEASED TO THE WORLD
624
00:38:36,976 --> 00:38:40,309
WHEN THE DEITIES CHURNED
THE COSMIC SEA OF MILK.
625
00:38:44,018 --> 00:38:47,017
THE TEMPLE OF ANGKOR WAT
PROBABLY HAD 3,000 OR MORE
626
00:38:47,018 --> 00:38:49,098
APSARA DANCERS ASSIGNED TO IT,
627
00:38:49,099 --> 00:38:53,099
TO ENTERTAIN THE KING AND HIS
VISITORS, AS WELL AS THE GODS.
628
00:38:58,601 --> 00:39:01,516
THE APSARA DANCE ALMOST DIED OUT
IN THE 1970s
629
00:39:01,517 --> 00:39:04,683
DURING CAMBODIA'S
KHMER ROUGE REGIME.
630
00:39:04,684 --> 00:39:06,433
DANCERS AT THE TIME
WERE TARGETED
631
00:39:06,434 --> 00:39:10,018
AS INTELLECTUALS AND ELITIST,
AND THEY WERE KILLED.
632
00:39:12,018 --> 00:39:14,433
TODAY, THIS ANCIENT DANCE
IS ONCE AGAIN
633
00:39:14,434 --> 00:39:17,099
A VISIBLE PART
OF CAMBODIAN CULTURE.
634
00:39:19,684 --> 00:39:23,683
IT HAS BEEN RECENTLY REVIVED BY
DANCERS STUDYING APSARA CARVINGS
635
00:39:23,684 --> 00:39:25,099
AT ANGKOR WAT.
636
00:39:28,099 --> 00:39:29,933
LEAVING BEHIND
THE OUTER GALLERIES,
637
00:39:29,934 --> 00:39:33,683
A VISITOR WOULD NEXT REACH
THE SECOND LEVEL OF ANGKOR WAT.
638
00:39:33,684 --> 00:39:37,098
HERE, COLUMNS BORDER
A CROSS-SHAPED GALLERY
639
00:39:37,099 --> 00:39:40,183
THAT MIMICS THE LAYOUT OF
THE TEMPLE'S CENTRAL LEVEL.
640
00:39:41,767 --> 00:39:44,558
THESE GALLERIES LEAD THE WAY
TO A LARGE POOL
641
00:39:44,559 --> 00:39:47,098
WHERE THE KING AND THE BRAHMINS
PURIFIED THEMSELVES
642
00:39:47,099 --> 00:39:51,098
BEFORE PERFORMING RITUALS
TO THE GODS.
643
00:39:51,099 --> 00:39:55,098
HERE, LINGERING TRACES OF COLORS
THAT COVERED THE SURFACES
644
00:39:55,099 --> 00:39:58,059
SUGGEST HOW THE TEMPLE
ONCE LOOKED.
645
00:40:01,350 --> 00:40:03,266
Uchida: AT THE CENTER
OF THE CRUCIFORM GALLERY
646
00:40:03,267 --> 00:40:06,433
IS A COLUMN WHICH IS COLORED
IN FIVE LAYERS OF PAINT
647
00:40:06,434 --> 00:40:09,516
THAT ALTERNATES
BETWEEN WHITE AND RED.
648
00:40:09,517 --> 00:40:13,017
FIRST, THEY USED RED PIGMENT
ON A WHITE BACKGROUND.
649
00:40:13,018 --> 00:40:14,308
IN THE NEXT GENERATION,
650
00:40:14,309 --> 00:40:18,098
THEY PAINTED USING RED PIGMENT
ON A WHITE BACKGROUND AGAIN.
651
00:40:18,099 --> 00:40:19,641
ALTHOUGH WE DON'T KNOW WHY,
652
00:40:19,642 --> 00:40:21,516
THEY FINALLY COVERED
EVERYTHING IN WHITE,
653
00:40:21,517 --> 00:40:23,934
SO IT CURRENTLY LOOKS PINK.
654
00:40:27,099 --> 00:40:29,516
Kwon: EVERY TRACE OF
ANCIENT RESIDUE ADDS CLUES
655
00:40:29,517 --> 00:40:33,642
TO ANGKOR WAT'S GLORY AS
ITS ROYAL PATRON ONCE SAW IT.
656
00:40:36,517 --> 00:40:38,098
AS IN MANY HINDU TEMPLES,
657
00:40:38,099 --> 00:40:41,098
THE FIVE TOWERS OF ANGKOR WAT
REPRESENT THE FIVE PEAKS
658
00:40:41,099 --> 00:40:42,766
OF SACRED MOUNT MERU,
659
00:40:42,767 --> 00:40:46,099
THE RESIDENCE OF THE GODS
IN THE ANCIENT TRADITION.
660
00:40:47,726 --> 00:40:52,391
THE HIGHEST TOWER SOARS AS HIGH
AS NOTRE DAME CATHEDRAL.
661
00:40:52,392 --> 00:40:56,098
IN ALL, 10 STAIRWAYS LEAD
TO THE CENTRAL TOWER--
662
00:40:56,099 --> 00:40:58,349
A DEVIATION FROM TEMPLES
BUILT EARLIER,
663
00:40:58,350 --> 00:41:01,099
SUCH AS THE 11th CENTURY
BAPHUON.
664
00:41:04,976 --> 00:41:06,433
Pascal Royere [translated]:
IN THE CASE OF BAPHUON,
665
00:41:06,434 --> 00:41:09,098
THE FOUR STAIRWAYS ON THE FOUR
SIDES WERE ADDED LATER ON
666
00:41:09,099 --> 00:41:11,098
BECAUSE OF SAFETY ISSUES.
667
00:41:11,099 --> 00:41:13,850
THE STAIRWAYS WERE ADDED
IN ORDER TO SOLVE PROBLEMS
668
00:41:13,851 --> 00:41:16,891
WHICH AROSE DURING
THE CONSTRUCTION OF BAPHUON.
669
00:41:16,892 --> 00:41:19,099
BUT IN ANGKOR WAT, THEY WERE
INCLUDED IN THE PLANS
670
00:41:19,100 --> 00:41:22,017
FROM THE VERY BEGINNING
OF CONSTRUCTION.
671
00:41:22,018 --> 00:41:25,098
AS A RESULT, A NEW AND VERY
SPECIAL STYLE OF ARCHITECTURE
672
00:41:25,099 --> 00:41:26,767
WAS CREATED.
673
00:41:29,099 --> 00:41:32,058
Kwon: ALL THE STAIRWAYS EXCEPT
THOSE IN THE CENTRAL CORRIDOR
674
00:41:32,059 --> 00:41:35,516
ARE TOO STEEP TO CLIMB
WITH EASE.
675
00:41:35,517 --> 00:41:37,766
THESE FEATURES ARE THOUGHT
TO BE A REMINDER
676
00:41:37,767 --> 00:41:40,684
THAT THE PATH TO ENLIGHTENMENT
IS NOT EASY.
677
00:41:48,642 --> 00:41:51,182
THE MOAT SYMBOLIZING
THE GREAT COSMIC SEA
678
00:41:51,183 --> 00:41:53,850
ENCLOSES 500 ACRES OF LAND
679
00:41:53,851 --> 00:41:57,976
WHERE THE TEMPLE OF ANGKOR WAT
SITS AT ITS MAJESTIC CENTER.
680
00:42:01,934 --> 00:42:04,098
ALTHOUGH IT IS NOW
A BUDDHIST SANCTUARY,
681
00:42:04,099 --> 00:42:07,683
ANGKOR WAT WAS BUILT AS
A HINDU TEMPLE HONORING VISHNU,
682
00:42:07,684 --> 00:42:12,099
THE HINDU GOD SURYAVARMAN II
WAS CLOSELY ASSOCIATED WITH.
683
00:42:17,475 --> 00:42:20,182
AS IMPRESSIVE AND INSPIRING
AS THEY ARE NOW,
684
00:42:20,183 --> 00:42:23,182
THE TOWERS WERE SURELY
ONCE EVEN MORE SO,
685
00:42:23,183 --> 00:42:25,892
WHEN THEIR GOLD
GLEAMED IN THE SUN.
686
00:42:28,099 --> 00:42:31,308
INSIDE THE HIGHEST TOWER
WAS A CENTRAL SANCTUARY,
687
00:42:31,309 --> 00:42:34,142
WHERE THE KING BUILT
A SHRINE TO VISHNU.
688
00:42:37,434 --> 00:42:40,891
A GOLDEN STATUE OF VISHNU
REIGNED OVER THE ENTIRE TEMPLE
689
00:42:40,892 --> 00:42:43,099
FROM THIS PLACE OF HONOR.
690
00:42:46,100 --> 00:42:48,725
LONG AFTER THE REIGN
OF SURYAVARMAN II,
691
00:42:48,726 --> 00:42:51,850
WHEN THE KHMER EMPIRE
BECAME A BUDDHIST NATION,
692
00:42:51,851 --> 00:42:53,474
THE STATUE OF VISHNU
WAS REPLACED
693
00:42:53,475 --> 00:42:57,309
WITH A LIKENESS OF BUDDHA,
WHICH REMAINS TO THIS DAY.
694
00:43:00,099 --> 00:43:01,433
IN THE MID 12th CENTURY,
695
00:43:01,434 --> 00:43:05,224
WHEN SURYAVARMAN II VISITED HIS
NEARLY COMPLETED MASTERPIECE,
696
00:43:05,225 --> 00:43:08,559
HE WAS NEARING THE END
OF HIS LIFE AND HIS REIGN.
697
00:43:12,225 --> 00:43:14,558
SURYAVARMAN II'S RULE
IS CONSIDERED
698
00:43:14,559 --> 00:43:16,933
THE GOLDEN AGE OF
THE KHMER EMPIRE,
699
00:43:16,934 --> 00:43:21,098
AND ANGKOR WAT IS THE ULTIMATE
SYMBOL OF HIS DYNASTY.
700
00:43:21,099 --> 00:43:24,017
IT'S NOT KNOWN EXACTLY
WHEN THE KING DIED.
701
00:43:24,018 --> 00:43:26,766
IT WAS PROBABLY AROUND
THE YEAR 1150 A.D.,
702
00:43:26,767 --> 00:43:29,391
NOT LONG AFTER THE COMPLETION
OF THE TEMPLE.
703
00:43:29,392 --> 00:43:31,266
WHAT HAPPENED NEXT IS UNCLEAR,
704
00:43:31,267 --> 00:43:35,141
BECAUSE THERE ARE NO RECORDS
FOR THE PERIOD AFTER HIS DEATH.
705
00:43:35,142 --> 00:43:39,017
BUT WHAT WE DO KNOW IS THAT
IT WAS A TIME OF GREAT TURMOIL.
706
00:43:39,018 --> 00:43:40,433
THE NEXT KING REIGNED
ONLY BRIEFLY
707
00:43:40,434 --> 00:43:43,558
BEFORE WAR AND DISCORD
BEGAN SAPPING THE EMPIRE
708
00:43:43,559 --> 00:43:45,683
OF ITS STRENGTH.
709
00:43:45,684 --> 00:43:48,683
SURYAVARMAN HAD CONQUERED
HIS PART OF THE WORLD,
710
00:43:48,684 --> 00:43:51,725
EXPANDED HIS EMPIRE
AND SUCCESSFULLY CREATED
711
00:43:51,726 --> 00:43:54,141
ONE OF THE WORLD'S
GREATEST MONUMENTS.
712
00:43:54,142 --> 00:43:56,891
BUT OF ALL HIS ACHIEVEMENTS,
713
00:43:56,892 --> 00:44:01,017
ONLY ANGKOR WAT WOULD
STAND THE TEST OF TIME.
714
00:44:01,018 --> 00:44:03,308
THE IMAGE OF ANGKOR WAT HAS
GRACED THE CAMBODIAN FLAG
715
00:44:03,309 --> 00:44:08,098
SINCE 1953, AND IT REMAINS
A SOURCE OF GREAT PRIDE
716
00:44:08,099 --> 00:44:10,018
FOR MODERN CAMBODIANS.
717
00:44:12,142 --> 00:44:14,558
OVER THE COURSE OF
HIS FOUR-DECADE RULE,
718
00:44:14,559 --> 00:44:17,391
SURYAVARMAN II INCREASED
THE KHMER EMPIRE
719
00:44:17,392 --> 00:44:20,266
BY MORE THAN
100,000 SQUARE MILES,
720
00:44:20,267 --> 00:44:25,017
ESTABLISHING HIMSELF
AS A GREAT WARRIOR KING.
721
00:44:25,018 --> 00:44:27,975
WHEN HE WAS ENTOMBED
IN HIS OWN GREATEST CREATION,
722
00:44:27,976 --> 00:44:31,391
HE WAS GIVEN THE POSTHUMOUS NAME
PARAMAVISHNULOKA,
723
00:44:31,392 --> 00:44:35,099
OR "HE WHO HAS ENTERED
THE HEAVENLY WORLD OF VISHNU."
724
00:44:39,100 --> 00:44:44,058
AFTER HE DIED, THE KHMER EMPIRE
FELL INTO DISARRAY.
725
00:44:44,059 --> 00:44:46,349
OPPOSING FACTIONS
VIED FOR POWER,
726
00:44:46,350 --> 00:44:50,099
AND THE COUNTRY SUFFERED
INVASIONS BY NEIGHBORING FORCES.
727
00:44:52,099 --> 00:44:55,058
TODAY ANGKOR WAT IS
A CHERISHED REMINDER
728
00:44:55,059 --> 00:44:57,850
OF THE KHMER EMPIRE'S PAST GLORY
729
00:44:57,851 --> 00:45:02,098
AND A SOURCE OF GREAT PRIDE
IN MODERN CAMBODIA.
730
00:45:02,099 --> 00:45:04,224
A UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITE,
731
00:45:04,225 --> 00:45:08,099
IT DRAWS A MILLION VISITORS
PER YEAR FROM AROUND THE GLOBE.
732
00:45:09,267 --> 00:45:14,098
SYMBOL, TEMPLE,
TOMB, AND TREASURE,
733
00:45:14,099 --> 00:45:19,098
ANGKOR WAT IS A MASTERPIECE OF
ANCIENT MONUMENTAL ARCHITECTURE.
734
00:45:19,099 --> 00:45:22,809
IT HAS FEW RIVALS
ANYWHERE ON EARTH.
60138
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