Researchers use laser technology to rediscover an ancient city that dates more than a millenium in a dense Cambodian jungle. The city was one of Khmer Empire's, a civilisation that grew to dominate that part of the world once.

As opposed to submerged Mauritia or sunken Thonis, which are deep in the abyss of the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea respectively, the ancient city of Mahendraparvata was completely hidden by a thick jungle—that of mountain Phnom Kulen in Cambodia. It was so concealed that even villagers who live in the nearby region had absolutely no clue they had the ruins of the largest low-density, pre-industrial urban complex on Earth as neighbour.

Rise and fall of Mahendraparvata

This may be so but researchers long suspected that the Cambodian mountain of Phnom Kulen was potentially garding one great secret. Indeed since 1936, an expedition led by French archaeologist and historian Philippe Stern discovered temples and statues of the Hindu god Vishnu on the mountain. He described Phnom Kulen as the first true temple mountain.

Stern's description was also backed by history. The Khmer Empire, which would go on to dominate the region both by virtue of its political and military powers, is known to have begun on Phnom Kulen when founder Jayavarman II went through his consecration ritual on the mountain. That was where he also began the foundation of the first of his new empire in 802 AD. That city would kickstart it all and was named "Mahendraparvata."

But Mahendraparvata would eventually lose its status to newer ones, especially Angkor which was built about 350 years later as the Khmer empire spread its domination and influence. Angkor is now widely known for housing the largest religious monument in the world. Built in the 11th century in just 37 years, Angkor Wat, "City of Temples," was erected and dedicated to god Vishnu. The remains of Angkor Wat is today the most touristic attraction in Cambodia. Angkor Wat is also featured prominently on the Cambodian flag.

Mahendraparvata faded in the shadow of new cities and eventually into the greenness of the jungle. It was slowly swallowed and engulfed by a dense forest on a prominent mountain. But, contrarily to many lost lands or cities, it was never forgotten, merely lost.

Rediscovery of Mahendraparvata

Now, more than a millenium later, Australian researchers have finally found the lost city again. Using a sophisticated sensing technology called Lidar, which uses lasers to map given terrains, the researchers discovered almost thirty temples as well as evidence of a vast urban structure such as canals, dykes and roads.

Talking to Australian Fairfax Media, which broke the news about the discovery earlier this week on its affiliated publications, Dr. Damian Evans, co-leader of the expedition said:

"With this instrument—bang—all of a sudden we saw an immediate picture of an entire city that no one knew existed, which is just remarkable."

And it is indeed remarkable. The researchers attached their quarter-million dollar Lidar to a red helicopter and painstakingly criss-crossed 370 square kilometres in a week as they attempted to pierce through the Phnom Kulen jungle. As reported by Fairfax Media, Lidar "collected billions of data points and about 5,000 digital aerial photographs." It took years to analyse the data, check them and have them peer-reviewed—years before the team was finally able to announce the discovery of the long-lost city of Mahendraparvata.

Importantly, the researchers believe that at least two of the newly-discovered temples may never have been looted as they could find no evidence of ancient bricks or rocks scattered around. Analyses of those temples, especially, could provide valuable information about this old city as well as its people.

How it all went wrong

But what led to the disappearance of the Khmer civilisation? The idea that Dr. Evans and his team are currently exploring is chilling because it hits close to home. The researchers believe that the impact of severe deforestation, deduced by data from Lidar, and an over-dependence on water management led to the civilisation's demise. Could this be a message from the past to us, recounting the terrible potential of unsustainable development?

Regardless, the fall of Mahendraparvata signified the demise of the Khmer empire just like its founding corresponded to its rise. So what will its rediscovery now conjure for the descendants of the Khmers, the locals of the region? Well for a start, the influx of activity that will accompany intensified archaeological works can provide jobs. Many of the 1,200 villagers who live in the region are malnourished so work can hopefully afford them food. But the work may be dangerous. The region is plagued with landmines dispersed across the mountain during the war.

This notwithstanding, here's to hoping that the secrets Mahendraparvata, protected by forests and landmines, are further uncovered soon. Dr. Evans and co will officially publish their discovery in a future issue of the journal PNAS soon. One has to wonder what secrets they will reveal about the long-lost city of Mahendraparvata then.

Image credit: Top: from Wikimedia Commons ; Bottom: dalbera (from flickr ).