221 - Angkorian Temples in Mainland Southeast Asia: Cambodia, Laos, Thailand & Vietnam 9th - 15th Century

The Angkorian Era of the Khmer Empire (9th - 15th AD) is notable for its construction of numerous temples of high architectural heritage value, yet those temples have not been studied in depth. The spatial distribution of those temples, and their various historical characteristics, are also yet to be analyzed or mapped out. The purpose of this project is to spatially map the temple and discern if locations correlate to the region’s geography. This project compiled primary data on 70 major Angkorian temples in mainland Southeast Asia using various sources but primarily Google Earth Pro and Humanitarian Data Exchange (HDX). Using a geographic information system application, QGIS, those data points (coordinates) were plotted, displaying a visual distribution of those temples. In addition to their locations, data such as their year of construction, construction material, dedicated religion, and elevation were collected. Results revealed major hotspots of temple construction. The spatial analysis based on mapping accentuates previous findings that the concentration of temples are on the Tonle Sap basin and the Khorat Plateau, which were connected by a complex transportation network. Other factors also appear to influence such distribution including access to stone quarries, water abundance, and agricultural land. Sandstone and laterite were the most common building materials. Although the project is rather incomplete due to lack of coherent resources and time limitations, it points toward future in-depth studies of the architectural importance of the Angkor Empire, and paves way for studying the kingdom’s way of life.