Angkor Borei

Angkor Borei ( Khmer អង្គរបុរី ) is an ancient city in Takeo Province in southern Cambodia . Angkor was the capital of the Kingdom of Funan .

Angkor Borei extends over an area of ​​about 300 hectares . The area was already in the 4th century BC. Settled and formed an important center, surrounded by a wall and a moat . Chinese travelers described the area as the capital of Funan State. The city was connected to other settlements in the Mekong Delta through canals.

Excavations, led by Miriam T. Stark among others , show that the area was settled in the prehistoric Iron Age. A deep cemetery was uncovered in which the dead were buried in clay jugs together with offerings. This period was followed by a conquest by foreign powers, which is characterized by numerous thin orange pottery that dates from the 1st to 6th centuries. The city walls may have been built in the late phase of this period. The wall is at least 2.40 meters wide and in some sections still extends up to 4.50 meters in height.

Inside the wall there are many heaped up mounds that served as temple foundations. Finds from the 7th century depicting the god Vishnu were discovered in one of the mounds. Rectangular ponds and water reservoirs with dimensions of up to 100 m by 200 m indicate a larger population that had to be supplied here.

About three km away is the Phnom Da hill , also an archaeological site from the Angkor period.

literature

• Charles Higham : Encyclopedia of Ancient Asian Civilizations . New York: Facts on Files 2004. ISBN 0-8160-4640-9 .

Coordinates: 10 ° 58 ′  N , 104 ° 59 ′  E