Angkor - a gigantic temple complex larger than all known world complexes was built by King Suryavarman the second in the period 1113-1150, covers an area of over 3000 square meters. km. Further kings supplemented the complex with their structures until the Khmer Empire perished under the blows of the Siamese, the ancestors of modern Thais. There are no megalithic blocks, no hard rocks used for the construction of structures in other parts of the world. The basis of the materials from which the temples are assembled is laterite, a reddish easy-to-work stone formed only in tropical countries and up to five types of sandstone, which is also a simple and easy-to-work material.
Angkor amazes with its splendor. There are simply no words to describe the greatness and lightness of the gigantic structures built long before our days.
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A number of towers and temples reach a height of 60 meters, this is the height of a twenty-story building. In the modern world, such structures are presented as high-rise objects of increased complexity. The foundations of such structures are performed on a pile foundation using sophisticated construction equipment. According to the research carried out, the soil was dug out under the complex and sand was poured, which was carefully compacted. A layer of soil was laid on it, or, as modern builders say, backfill soil, and then carefully compacted sand was laid again. Or, in modern construction language, preparation has been made for the base of a floating foundation. This technology was proved and applied with great difficulty in the 70s of the last century, but still, high-rise buildings are still being installed on a pile foundation. In the capital of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, there is a fenced area of the city with two dozen 10-12-storey buildings going underground. With all their engineering and geological equipment, the builders could not foresee all the nuances of tropical soils. Apparently, the ancient builders of Angkor had extensive experience in the construction of high-rise buildings and structures on floating foundations in tropical conditions. I’m scared to even think about how many million cubic meters of soil I had to replace with sand. And all the soil must be dug up, transferred to another place and the same amount of sand must be brought in. Apparently, the ancient builders of Angkor had extensive experience in the construction of high-rise buildings and structures on floating foundations in tropical conditions. I’m scared to even think about how many million cubic meters of soil I had to replace with sand. And all the soil must be dug up, transferred to another place and the same amount of sand must be brought in. Apparently, the ancient builders of Angkor had extensive experience in the construction of high-rise buildings and structures on floating foundations in tropical conditions. I’m scared to even think about how many million cubic meters of soil I had to replace with sand. And all the soil must be dug up, transferred to another place and the same amount of sand must be brought in.
Sandstone is an easy-to-work material and is easily cut and processed by hand. It is striking with what precision the ancient builders adjusted and processed stone blocks.
Moreover, they were cut and processed easily without thinking about the size and shape.
Even at first glance, seemingly uneven with the lost cladding of the laterite walls, they are also cut with exceptional precision.
All bas-reliefs were carved on pre-aligned stone surfaces.
One cannot but admire the openwork processing of the palace columns.
Having hired a car on the fourth day of our stay in Angkor, we drove to the river of a thousand lingams Kbal Spean.
The length of the river channels is about 9 kilometers. At first glance, it seems that there are such beautiful bas-reliefs, beautiful slabs. However, to accomplish such a task, it is necessary to run the river along a different channel, scoop out all the silt, light fractions from the entire length of the river and to the entire depth of river sediments, then add an incredible amount of sand and lay on top not just sandstone slabs, but decorated with bas-reliefs.
Many sources mention the correspondence of the location of the temples of Angkor to the constellation of the Dragon in the position in which the stars were in 10 450 BC. According to legend, The Bayon Temple was built by King Jayavarman VII, nicknamed the old wizard, and in translation Ba-old man, Yon is a wizard (maybe Ba-Ba Yaga is also an old old Yaga ?:))). It is the Boyon temple that symbolizes the heart in the constellation of the Dragon.
The temple attracts many by the fact that under it there is a deep underground passage that has not yet been explored.
On the fifth day, we took a taxi to the Prasat Thom pyramid located 170 kilometers from Angkor. On the way to the pyramid, we were met by a small market with bored merchants, but there were no tourists besides us.
The pyramid is an exact copy of the pyramids of South America. According to legend, one of the rulers of Angkor was the sorcerer king who, for unknown reasons, moved the capital of the Khmer state from Angkor and built a pyramid and a temple complex in a new place for 25 years.
At the request of the forum participants, I paid more attention to the so-called. tychkam - holes found in the slabs of both Egypt and Angkor.
At first glance, they seem a little different, but after looking closely, you begin to understand that, by and large, they are made using absolutely the same technology.
Almost all of them have uneven edges and a flat bottom.
The uneven star-shaped edges suggest that such holes were punched with a bolt-type tool,
really large. The simplest explanation for this was not the frail build of the peasants and he made such holes with one maximum of two blows.
According to the official version, replicated both in the press and according to the stories of the guides, such tychki served to transport the blocks to the construction site. They told me touchingly how the builders grinded pieces of iron wood and, driving them into the tykki, tied the stone with ropes, preparing it for transportation to the construction site.
However, the ancestors, in my deep understanding, having built such structures were not complete cretins. Since there are similar holes in brick walls.
Then, according to the official explanation, each brick was also tied?:) And actually then why were such tykki performed.? Examining the temples, I noticed that some of the holes retained the remains of the materials that filled them.
It is nothing more than pink sandstone - a material used for cladding buildings or making bas-reliefs. IMHO a large number of pins applied to the walls of buildings and roads serve only one purpose - to fix the facing plates.
Separate pokes found on the bas-reliefs and sculptures served to attach precious and semiprecious stones. In Cambodia, as in all surrounding countries, sapphires, rubies, etc. have been mined since ancient times, and in modern times it is here that they can be purchased at a very low price.
During the collapse of the Khmer state, the bas-reliefs were either destroyed or taken out of the country. However, the question remains, what were the roads covered with. All the more pink sandstone is not so durable material for paving roads. Moreover, I did not find a single trace of the material used in the roads.
Angkor has a lot that is found in Egypt and South America. You involuntarily draw analogies and, of course, it is too early to draw any conclusions, but it still seems to me that we are dealing with one culture that had to be on the entire territory of the Earth.
Clips met in the temples of Angkor.
Tightly sealed or freed by time, from their binding element, they are found both on the roads and on the walls of buildings.
Of course, there was a great desire to pick out one of the ties and see what was under it. But luck found a broken tie.
and, lifting the remaining element,
examined its basis. It is clear that the screed was made purely for the stone connecting element.
However, there are others
Clearly indicating metal block mountings. And what is interesting in its appearance is very, very similar to South American ones.
According to legend, the capital of the Khmer state was founded in a different place, but the astrologers, read astronomers-topographers, pointed to another place where Angkor is actually located. And indeed the temples are oriented with their front facades along the north-south line. Temple Ankor Wat, according to legend, being built as a place where King Suryavarman the second was to receive a rebirth with an axial line directed from west to east. While the rest of the temples are from east to west.
The views of the structures woven into the jungle cannot leave anyone indifferent.
And how not to admire the bas-reliefs carved in stone.
In my opinion, Angkor is fraught with many mysteries and only its full-fledged study can shed light on its mysterious history.
And not everyone knows that when R. Kipling was resting in one of the hotels of Siem Reap, a town located in the immediate vicinity of Angkor, he was informed of the capture of a feral boy in the jungle near the ancient city. This news formed the basis of R. Kipling's story about Mowgli.
ANDREY SKLYAROV