0:01 In the ancient land, now known as Cambodia, 0:06 was a city, that in a 12th century was home

0:09 to one million people. 0:12 At his heart, a magnificent temple, 0:17 born from horrific violence, 0:20 to build heaven on Earth. 0:24 Larger than any European cathedral. 0:27 Surrounded it by massive water ways. 0:31 It's survived invasions and modern wars. 0:34 One of the greatest temples on the world, 0:37 Angkor Wat. 0:40 ANCIENT MEGASTRUCTURES 0:52 ANGKOR WAT 0:59 Rising from the flood plane of the Mekong river, 1:01 in central Cambodia. Is one of the most spectacular temples 1:05 in the world. 1:06 This is Angkor Wat. 1:11 Once a Hindu temple, 1:13 now is stunning monument to Cambodia's golden age. 1:17 Angkor means city and wat is a temple or pagoda. 1:23 And it is massive. 1:25 Spending an area that could cover the flight decks 1:27 of more than 100 aircraft carriers. 1:31 At the center of this waste complex is this: 1:36 a temple twice the high of the Tower of London. 1:40 It's one of the most amazing engineering projects in the world. 1:45 Not just for it size 1:48 but for what it is built of on 1:50 water. 1:52 Because, Angkor Wat is floating on a swamp, 1:57 support it by foundation of subterranean water. 2:14 Mysterious in captivating, it's enormous scale 2:17

and beautiful carvings are the brain child of autocratic king. 2:21 His name is Suryavarman II. 2:25 "Shield of the sun". 2:28 Suryavarman is in his prime. 2:31 Archaeologist Charles Higham, 2:33 believes that Suryavarman is more than just a man. 2:36 His a muscular, powerful, military leader, 2:40 but his also a semi God. 2:42 Everyone around is on the knees. 2:47 Yet, despite his supreme power 2:50 what motivates him to build Angkor Wat 2:52 might be his own insecurity. 2:56 And the reason for this insecurity 2:58 may lie in the way Suryavarman seized his kingdom. 3:04 Cambodia, 1113 CE. 3:08 This is the heart of the waste empire ruled by people 3:12 known as the Khmer, which includes modern day Cambodia 3:15 and extents into Laos. 3:18 Suryavarman is not yet king of this empire. 3:21 His only fourteen years old 3:23 and his uncle holds the throne. 3:26 Not even the heir apparent, 3:28 the ambitious teenager believes his destine to be king. 3:32 According to legend, the young man ambushes his uncle, 3:35 traveling through his domain. 3:43 As the fight continues the youngster brakes away 3:48 and leaves on to the old king's elephant 3:51 and kills him. 3:58 Victorious, the fourteen years old gains a fitting new name. 4:03 Suryavarman II. Shield of the sun. 4:10 Having seized the throne. 4:12 Suryavarman immediately sets out to consolidate 4:15 his hold on the empire.

4:21 It was a true gigantic and sophisticated empire. 4:25 Stone conservator, Simon Warrack, 4:28 is fascinated with Suryavarman's legacy. 4:30 Perhaps on a level of the Roman empire, 4:33 though it hasn't mean study that much. 4:35 But it was gigantic. 4:42 In spite of his success, 4:44 Suryavarman II., he used usurper king, 4:47 who seized the throne by murder. 4:49 If he does not want to get over throne 4:52 by enemies of post of his rule, 4:54 he must establish his position as the god king 4:57 in the eyes of his people. 4:59 This is very common all over the world. 5:00 In every culture a king who has slightly dubious CV 5:04 well, impose himself with the architecture and his art, 5:09 to prove that he really was chosen by the gods. 5:11 He certainly did that with Angkor. 5:14 Consulting with his priests and advisers 5:18 Suryavarman pursues in aggressive plan. 5:21 He starts by selecting the Hindu God Vishnu as his patron. 5:26 His choice sends a powerful message, 5:29 since Vishnu is involved by other kings in times a war. 5:40 To honor his divine protector 5:42 Suryavarman will construct a elaborate religious complex. 5:49 This would not be built of wood like any normal Khmer building, 5:53 because wood like men parishes. 5:59 To transform their kings into the gods, 6:01 the Khmer use a material that would last for eternity. 6:06 They build theirs temples in stone. 6:11 Building temples is one way that Khmer kings 6:14 can demonstrate their power. 6:19

And they will build more than seven hundred. 6:26 But Suryavarman wants his masterpiece 6:29 to surpass them all. 6:30 It will be the largest temple in the Khmer empire. 6:35 Angkor Wat. 6:44 As be fits his ambition 6:46 Suryavarman's plan is God like in scale. 6:55 Angkor Wat will reproduce on Earth 6:58 the world of the Gods in every detail. 7:02 The Hindu conception of heaven was mount Meru. 7:06 And mount Meru occupied the mystical place 7:08 somewhere north of the Himalayas. 7:10 And there were five mountain peaks, 7:12 where the Gods lived. Here you have to reconstruct that. 7:15 So, at the center is enormous temple mount 7:19 top by five towers soring 65m above the flood plain. 7:25 This is known as the temple mountain. 7:30 The temple mountain was a clearly a place of warship. 7:33 But they may also of had another, 7:35 equally secret purpose. 7:38 The building presents conflicting clues. 7:41 Is dedicated to the Hindu God Vishnu. 7:44 get it features Suryavarman II. posthumous name, 7:48 Paramavishnuloka. 7:50 It faces do west. The compass point associated with Vishnu, 7:55 but also the direction of death. 7:58 When the king became king, the first in mind that he had, 8:01 was when he died he had to go to heaven 8:03 and so here they had to reconstruct 8:05 literally heaven on Earth. And those of already a massive project 8:09 he had a large army of architects, he had his priests, 8:12 he had a suit-sayers, get everybody organized, 8:15 for the wood go to built this massive complex.

8:19 So, that on death, he went straight to heaven. 8:21 Higham believes, that Suryavarman plan this complex 8:24 as his getaway to the afterlife. 8:28 Like the pyramids in Egypt, 8:30 the temple should be completed before the god king dies. 8:34 If not, he might not join the gods in heaven. 8:38 This was unthinkable. 8:43 But just clearing the side amibestiny rain forest 8:47 is the first challenge, 8:49 because the area it covers is huge, some 500 acres. 8:55 It's hard to get your head a rounds, how big 500 acres is. 8:59 For engineer, Ed McCann, 9:01 the scale of this place is staggering. 9:03 500 acres is about the size of 250-300 football pitches. 9:09 It's not just the size of the side that is denting, 9:12 the construction's hurtles are equally formidable. 9:16 This would be covered with trees, from this size to, you know, 9:21 meters in diameters, hard tropical wood. 9:24 They got a few machetes and maybe axe or two 9:27 and they got chop their way through this 9:29 in the middle of steaming, hit and bugs 9:32 and beasts everywhere and this would be an mammas task, 9:35 absolutely mammas task to clear this area. 9:38 Like most of Cambodia, 9:40 Angkor sits on the flood water lodge plane, 9:44 but it is the capitol of the Khmer empire, 9:47 To boost his prestige, 9:48 Suryavarman needs to build here. 9:51 So, his men must erect millions of blocks of stone, 9:55 in the middle of flat flood plane, where there is no quarry. 10:01 And he must do in the monsoon plaque swamp land, 10:05 which will somehow support his mega structure, 10:07

for nearly a thousand years. 10:15 Suryavarman II. temple, Angkor Wat, 10:19 will sort about Cambodia larger then any mediaeval cathedral. 10:25 And his engineers have last then a single life time 10:27 in which to build it. 10:30 I'm a stonemason by trade 10:32 and I still haven't really work it how they did it. 10:36 That temple was built in probably about 35 years. 10:41 Now, the only cathedral in England for instants 10:45 that was built in such short time, 10:47 most cathedrals took up to 200-300 years. 10:50 And they were considerable smaller then Angkor Wat. 10:53 Because the temple is secret, 10:55 it has to be build on pure soil. 10:58 This meant that the dirt 11:00 has to be excavated down several meters. 11:03 It is backfield with thick layers of sand and top with stones. 11:07 A final layer of sand is added to the level of surface. 11:12 But all this would be for not 11:14 unless they can secure the favor of the gods 11:16 who will reside in the temple. 11:19 So, before they start building 11:21 they select on special day in the calendar. 11:24 Priests call out to the gods for their blessings. 11:29 They deep cords in colored powder. 11:32 With this, they lie down mandalas. 11:35 The mandala patterns represent heaven. 11:38 symbolically biding the gods to the side 11:41 and assuring their blessings on the temple. 11:45 At the core of the temple are these offerings: 11:48 the white Safire represents the moon, 11:50 while the gold leaves signifies the sun. 11:53 The two elements are bury it.

11:57 Over this location, Suryavarman engineers 12:00 will built the shaft leading through the burial chamber, 12:02 to the secret central chamber above 12:05 and the temple mountain is built around the shaft. 12:10 Created from terraces step on top of one another, 12:13 like three giant sandboxes. 12:15 The temple mountain is a massive project. 12:19 With the second and third levels twice is high then first. 12:23 On the very top are five peaks, 12:26 which represent the secret mount Meru 12:28 and its companion mountains. 12:31 The structure will weight 1000 of tons. 12:37 Suryavarman plans to build this complex 12:40 in the heart of the city of Angkor. 12:43 Life here is dominated by the monsoon cycle. 12:47 The rainfall in this area is highly seasonal. 12:50 Researcher Damien Evans, 12:52 contents that Cambodia's extreme climate, 12:55 shape the way the Angkor was built. 12:57 For six months of the year, you have an abundance of water, 13:00 too much water essentially and for the other six months 13:03 of the year during the dry season 13:05 you don't really have enough water. 13:06 Also rainfall is very quiet sharply from year to year. 13:11 In simple turns, with 88 percent of the rain 13:14 falling during the monsoon season, 13:17 the Khmer must stabilize, store and disperse water 13:20 for use during the dry season. 13:23 But the solution is anything but simple. 13:27 In the 9th century, Khmer engineers 13:30 began to create an extensive hydraulic system. 13:36 By the 12. century hundreds of interconnect it canals, 13:40

dykes and reservoirs operate over 1500 square km. 13:46 The network is like Venice on steroids. 13:49 It's a support an enormous city covering an area 13:51 is greatest the city of Los Angeles and sustaining 13:55 nearly one million people. It was far by the largest city 13:58 in the world to until the industrial revolution. 14:02 It's a virtual megalopolis. 14:04 Architectural conservators John Stuubs, 14:07 believes that Angkor is more than just a gigantic city. 14:11 It's a city of cities. 14:13 With Angkor Wat the temple being the inner piece, 14:17 like the Vatican is to Rome. 14:20 Even if they could build the solid foundation 14:22 into the water log soils the monsoon cycle 14:25 which alternately causes floods and droughts above ground 14:28 have it on anything constructed here. 14:31 Underground, 14:32 this spaces between the soil particles are filled with water, 14:36 as the water table surges up with the monsoon rains. 14:39 This would up root foundations and walls. 14:42 During the drought, the water table drops again, 14:45 drying the soil and causing into lose it last tisiens 14:48 sucking the walls and foundations downwards. 14:51 This dramatic ebb and flow could rip apart even the strongest building. 14:56 It will take a stroke of engineering brilliants 14:58 to conquer the forces of nature at work. 15:03 Instead of building the temple to which stand 15:05 in the impact of surging water 15:07 they turned the water to their advantage. 15:11 Angkor Wat, is like a ship floating on an ocean, 15:14 on sub terrain water. 15:17 But the Khmer have a problem. 15:21 There is only enough water to float on during the rainy season.

15:25 Have they would prevent the ship of stone 15:27 from settling on the bottom throughout the other months. 15:34 To keep the temple stable, 15:36 they must create the reservoir nearby, 15:38 to keep the water table top it up all year around. 15:42 The secret mechanism that protect the temple. 15:45 lies in one of it's most visible features. 15:48 The moats surrounding Angkor Wat is gigantic. 15:56 The outside parameter extends 5 km 16:00 and it's 200 m wide. 16:03 It's distinctive shape is clearly evident from space. 16:08 When complete, the moat will collect the run off 16:11 of the monsoon rains from the temple side, 16:13 minimizing the up roads surge of the water table. 16:16 During the dry season, water absorbed by the soil 16:19 from the moat reservoir, keeps the water table constant. 16:27 And the high water table forms the foundation, 16:29 upon which the temple is constructed 16:32 to keep it from sinking into a mud. 16:38 To fulfill this sort of objective the state was galvanized. 16:41 You have to get people from all over the kingdom. 16:44 We do have in fact one temple, 16:47 that was constructed some distance from here, 16:49 where we have all the records in stone 16:51 on what they did. They brought in workers 16:53 from every point of the compass. 16:56 Hundreds of thousands of people would been involved 16:59 and the work could been highly seasonal. 17:04 Most of the food production in this area 17:06 happens between roughly the months of May 17:08 and November or December. Throughout the rest of the 17:11 you essentially have a large amount of people 17:14

who ain't really engaged in food production 17:16 and who are available for call up using by the king, 17:18 by the rulers in order to come here and be involved 17:21 in mega projects like this. 17:23 Like a modern government, 17:25 Suryavarman uses major public works projects, 17:28 to keep his people busy in the off season. 17:32 Experts believe, that laborers worked to fulfill 17:34 feudal obligation to the king. 17:36 Although those workers may up also been motivated 17:39 by the promise of the spiritual reword. 17:44 With an estimated 5000 discipline workers, 17:49 Suryavarman can drive the excavation forward 17:51 at the fantastic haste. 17:54 The mote workers first dread 1,5 million cubic meters 17:58 of silt and sand from the site. 18:01 Enough to fill almost 200 thousands dump trucks. 18:06 That's a lot of spare earth 18:08 and it has to go somewhere. 18:10 But Suryavarman's engineers have already plan for this. 18:14 The sand will be contain by walls to form each of three great terraces. 18:20 However, 18:21 without concrete dubbin or steel to reinforced them 18:24 how can simple stone walls contain this mountain 18:27 of free flowing send. 18:31 Behind the brilliantly curve surfaces, 18:34 is another secret of Angkor Wat. 18:38 A stone called, laterite. 18:42 Laterite is a magic stone. 18:44 You cut it out like butter, 18:47 you shape it and it's hard like a rock last forever. 18:51 In English, the word laterite comes from the Latin, later, 18:55 which means brick.

18:58 And hidden in the flat land, the high temperatures 19:02 and heavy rain of Cambodia, 19:04 make it the perfect place for laterite to form. 19:08 Water filtering through the surface rock 19:10 dissolves some elements away. 19:13 Producing a formation made up of iron. 19:16 Aluminum and quartz. 19:25 Suryavarman's laborers works quickly. 19:28 Cutting blocks to make a rough fit because the laterite 19:30 is easiest to work when it damp. 19:35 Other team moves them into place. 19:41 And slowly, 19:43 the secret structure define by Suryavarman's priests architects, 19:46 starts to take shape. 19:51 But the laterite is not beautiful. 19:55 It's full of holes 19:56 and it cannot be carved into the delicate bas-reliefs, 19:59 worth of the god king. 20:01 For the surface of Angkor Wat, 20:04 Suryavarman needs a regal stone. 20:08 Something that will shimmer in the sun light, 20:10 reflecting off it temples, lintels and portals, 20:13 it's stairs and towers and sculpted facades. 20:19 When they are finished, 20:21 the laterite will be completely in cased in sand stone. 20:28 Simon Warrack, sees an Indian influence on this approach. 20:32 Following from India were they would find this giant rocks 20:36 and carve them in to temples. 20:38 Not having this situation in Cambodia, 20:40 it's possible they seem to create their own monolith by 20:44 building it first at the rough blocks 20:46 and then carving it later. 20:48

So, in a way, you're not looking 20:50 at dynamic building like a cathedral 20:54 but a gigantic sculpture. 20:57 To find the tons of sand stone need it to complete Angkor Wat, 21:02 Suryavarman's engineers would travel far to the north, 21:05 to a holly land scape, where the Khmer empire began, 21:09 the Kulen hills. 21:12 Kulen's great cliffs are the source of the rivers, 21:14 among them, the Siem Reap, 21:17 that fertilizes the extensive Angkor plane. 21:21 They are home to the earliest Khmer temples. 21:26 To honor this secret place, the Khmer artists have carved 21:29 phallus symbols, known it's "linga" in the river banks. 21:35 This icons blessed the water 21:37 and give it with power and strength, 21:39 as it makes its way to the Suryavarman's kingdom far below. 21:44 The journey is at least 30 km. 21:52 The work to quarry the stone was arduous and slow. 21:55 Khmer tools were rudiment. 21:58 Workers use chisels to trench the stone. 22:02 Then they insertion wooden wedges. 22:04 When soak with water the wooden wedges extend 22:07 and split the stone away from the block face. 22:11 After teams rough out blocks, 22:13 specialize transportation crews move this stones 22:17 weighing anything between two to twelve tons. 22:20 Experts estimate that workers had to shape and transport 22:24 three to four hundred blocks of sand stone per day, 22:26 to meet the ambitious time line of temple construction. 22:31 Just how the Khmer transported this mountain of stone 22:34 has let to decades of speculation. 22:37 But some evidences is carved into the stone itself. 22:44 In this bas-relief we can see the Khmer using floating bridges

22:48 and rafts to carry people and animals across the water. 22:52 The circles represents bamboo poles lash together 22:56 in a crude bridge bobbing about river timing with fish 23:00 and supporting the weight of entire army on the move. 23:05 It's seems likely that the crews would a loaded the stones 23:08 on some sort of barge or raft, 23:10 which was floated into a one of the many channels 23:13 leading to the temple site. 23:15 Once on the canal system the barge is toad by animal traction, 23:20 possibly elephants or water buffalo. 23:25 If during the dry season water levels in the canal is too low 23:30 the Khmer might block the arches at the road bridges, 23:32 to create a lock, 23:34 providing steady passage for the convoy of stones. 23:41 At the Angkor Wat site, workers swarm all over, 23:45 unloading and stock piling the sand stone blocks. 23:48 It's also important to remember that, 23:50 this is a huge feat of logistics and supplies as well. 23:53 If you were to be standing here 800 or 900 years ago, 23:56 watching this thing been put together. 23:58 What would you say is just a waste army of people, 24:01 elephants, cables, goonies for placing stone into place 24:06 and labor system of bamboo or ropes in order 24:09 to move everything into place and getting in to the right spot. 24:12 The workers hurry to create temple's walls from stone blocks 24:16 but they now face a new challenge, 24:18 moving the stone around the site. 24:21 And the moat once again proof its usefulness. 24:25 Now it functions as a port. 24:28 By floating the blocks around the moat, 24:31 materials can be delivered directly to any site of the site. 24:37 One of the most commonly ask questions at the Angkor is, 24:41

what are this holes for in the stone. 24:44 Probably, designed that you can put it a large stake of wood