The Story Beneath the Canopy: an Airborne Lidar Survey Over Angkor, Phnom Kulen and Koh Ker, Northwestern Cambodia

An airborne lidar survey over Angkor, Phnom Kulen, and Koh Ker in northwestern Cambodia has revealed that Angkor is likely the largest pre-industrial low-density urban complex ever documented. This groundbreaking discovery was made possible by advanced laser scanning technology, which penetrated dense vegetation to uncover hidden archaeological structures obscured from conventional remote sensing methods. The survey, conducted as part of the Greater Angkor Project, not only sheds new light on the extent and layout of Angkor but also sets a precedent for studying similar low-density urban environments in tropical forests worldwide.

Evans, D., Hanus, K., & Fletcher, R. (2025). The Story Beneath the Canopy: an Airborne Lidar Survey Over Angkor, Phnom Kulen and Koh Ker, Northwestern Cambodia. Across Space and Time, 38–46. https://doi.org/10.5117/9789089647153-4