Paleoenvironmental history of the West Baray, Angkor (Cambodia)

1. Mary Beth Day^a,¹,
2. David A. Hodell^b,
3. Mark Brenner^c,
4. Hazel J. Chapman^a,
5. Jason H. Curtis^d,
6. William F. Kenney^c,
7. Alan L. Kolata^e, and
8. Larry C. Peterson^f

Author Affiliations

1. ^aDepartment of Earth Sciences, Downing Street, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK, CB2 3EQ;
2. ^bDepartment of Earth Sciences and Godwin Laboratory for Palaeoclimate Research, Downing Street, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK, CB2 3EQ;
3. ^cDepartment of Geological Sciences and Land Use and Environmental Change Institute, P.O. Box 112120, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611;
4. ^dDepartment of Geological Sciences, P.O. Box 112120, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611;
5. ^eDepartment of Anthropology, 1126 East 59th Street, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60637; and
6. ^fRosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, 4600 Rickenbacker Causeway, University of Miami, Miami, FL, 33149

1. Edited by Mark H Thiemens, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, and approved November 22, 2011 (received for review July 15, 2011)

Abstract

Angkor (Cambodia) was the seat of the Khmer Empire from the 9th to 15th century AD. The site is noted for its monumental architecture and complex hydro-engineering systems, comprised of canals, moats, embankments, and large reservoirs, known as barays. We infer a 1,000-y, ¹⁴C-dated paleoenvironmental record from study of an approximately 2-m sediment core taken in the largest Khmer reservoir, the West Baray. The baray was utilized and managed from the time of construction in the early 11th century, through the 13th century. During that time, the West Baray received relatively high rates of detrital input. In the 14th century, linear sedimentation rates diminished by an order of magnitude, yielding a condensed section that correlates temporally with episodes of regional monsoon failure during the late 14th and early 15th century, recorded in tree ring records from Vietnam. Our results demonstrate that changes in the water management system were associated with the decline of the Angkorian kingdom during that period. By the 17th century, the West Baray again functioned as a limnetic system. Ecologic and sedimentologic changes over the last millennium, detected in the baray deposits, are attributed to shifts in regional-scale Khmer water management, evolving land use practices in the catchment, and regional climate change.

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Cambodian Apsara Authority orders S. Korean golf course halted [-With all the illegal constructions, Angkor Wat could become the next hotel site]

July 26, 2007

The Apsara Authority in Siem Reap province of Cambodia has ordered a South Korean company to stop constructing a golf course, alleging that it was being built illegally inside the Angkor Archaeological Park, local media reported Thursday.

An unidentified South Korean company recently began building a golf course on land near the Western Baray, a large reservoir located west of the Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom temples that is considered an integral part of the temple complex, the Cambodia Daily newspaper quoted Apsara Deputy Director Dom Hak as saying.

"I found there are some buildings and a site for a golf course being built inside the land of the Apsara Authority near the Baray Region. They built with no permission from Apsara at all," Dom Hak said.

It is illegal to build such a site in this area, he said, adding that he ordered the project to be scrapped earlier this month.

However, several other officials familiar with the Angkor area said they had no knowledge of any such golf course being built inside the park's protected area, the newspaper said.

Siem Reap's Deputy Provincial Governor Ung Oeun said that he had no information about a South Korean company building a golf course inside Angkor's protected area, it said.

Apsara is the government agency tasked with managing the Angkor park.

Source: Xinhua