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Lost cities #7: how Nasa technology uncovered the 'megacity' of Angkor

Wainwright, Oliver
http://www.theguardian.com/cities/2016/aug/16/lost-cities-6-angkor-wat-nasa-technology-khmer-megacity

Publisher:  The Guardian
Date Written:  16/08/2016
Year Published:  2016  
Resource Type:  Article

Recent laser surveys have revealed traces of a vast urban settlement, comparable in size to Los Angeles, around the temples of Angkor in the Cambodian jungle. The ancient Khmer capital was never lost … it just got a bit overgrown.

Abstract: 
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Excerpt:

Clusters of gigantic stone pine cones poke above the dense forest canopy in Cambodia, looking like ancient rocket ships poised for take-off, their distinctive silhouettes reflected in the mirror-calm moat below. Tree root tentacles roam along crumbling cornices, winding their way around door frames and strangling the serene stone faces of smiling god-kings, oblivious to the fact that their empire has long succumbed to the natural world.

When you're exploring the enigmatic temples of Angkor, along with the two million other tourists who come here each year, it can still feel like you're uncovering this lost kingdom for the first time. What's harder to imagine as you roam between the ruined sites, each set apart in the depths of the jungle, is that these monuments were once part of the largest, most sprawling city on the planet.

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