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National Geographic : 1982 May
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a king hunting elephant and rhino stumbled upon Angkor Thom, by then a dead, over grown city. He had it cleared and restored; for 50 years, as kings came from time to time, Angkor again saw pomp and ceremo ny. Spanish and Portuguese missionaries and traders came too. Their accounts, pub lished in the early 1600s, were the first word of Angkor to reach Europe. These marvels, they said, must have been created by Alex ander the Great, or ancient Romans, or Jews from China. And then all but Angkor Wat once more was left to the birds and the trees. W HEN MAINTENANCE is neglected, and birds excrete seeds of the fig tree on the tops of monuments, the seeds may germinate and send down roots. Small roots also enter between stones, and as they grow larger they pry the stones apart. But while the tree lives, its roots often hold the parted stones together, as would a net. After the tree has died, its roots rot and the stones spill apart. Humus forms. This process has been common at Angkor; I see it most clearly at Ta Prohm, where the Conservancy let the roots have their way (pages 572-3). As we climb over mossy, slip pery piles of spilled laterite blocks, Pich Keo quietly says watch out. A Hanuman snake. Named for the fearless, super-agile leader of the benevolent army of monkeys-"It jumps, it flies, it is skillful like Hanuman in battle." It's only a foot long, beautifully emerald green, and poisonous (page 574). Given earth enough and time, the spilled stones or even a building still standing will eventually be covered over by a mound. Numerous Angkor monuments were first encountered in this condition-Preah Khan, Ta Keo, just mounds. Uncovered, the stones were invariably found to be well preserved; the covering earth had sup pressed moss and fungus. Groslier made many photographic recon naissance flights over Angkor and reported many more mounds still. And so it's likely that sizable monuments are yet to be uncov ered, and presumably thousands of fine Khmer bronzes. Compared with archae ological sites in Greece or Egypt, he says, Angkor remains practically virgin. In Angkor and vicinity-as elsewhere in Cambodia, officially called Kampuchea Nature ana neglect Structures such as a gate at Ta Som (facing page) may suffer multiple naturalattacks. A structurallyunsound foundationof sand and laterite (1) promotes cracks by settling and waterpenetration. Seeds of banyanlike fig trees from bird droppings sprout atop Structures (2) and send roots down to the spongelikefoundation (3). As the tree matures, its enlargingroots (4) penetrate interstices between stones. When the tree dies, the dislodged, unsupportedstones fall (5). Some stones were held together by bronze clamps (6), many of which were looted long ago probablyfor their magical powers. Angkor: Ancient Glory in Stone 579
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