An international team of archaeologists has identified the remains of an extensive urban settlement surrounding the medieval temple of Angkor Wat, which extend beyond the current boundaries of the UNESCO World Heritage site.

The newly discovered ruins are largely buried or hidden under vegetation, but by combining the study of NASA satellite imagery with that of hand-drawn maps and ground surveys and investigations in the field, the team say they have discovered an urban sprawl that spreads over 1,035 square kilometres, linked by a complex irrigation system with the famous Angkor Wat temple located at its centre.

The team of archaeologists, from Australia, Cambodia and France, conclude that the city, which stood between the ninth and 16th centuries, was once the largest settlement in the world. ‘Even on a conservative estimate, greater Angkor at its peak was the world’s most extensive pre-industrial low-density urban complex,’ said the team’s findings, published in academic journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The Angkor Temple Complex in northwest Cambodia is already under serious threat from mass tourism, as reported in the September issue of Geographical. The latest discovery could draw even more visitors, adding to the 1.7 million who visited in 2006.

October 2007