TY - CHAP
T1 - From Quarries to Temples
T2 - Stone Procurement, Materiality and Spirituality in the Angkorian World
AU - Fischer, Christian
AU - Carò, Federico
AU - Polkinghorne, Martin
PY - 2023
Y1 - 2023
N2 - Angkor’s stone material culture has survived the effects of time and constitutes an essential corpus of evidence whose study holds the key to a better understanding of the ancient Cambodian culture. Amongst the diversity of rocks available, three main types of sandstone with specific properties and belonging to different geological formations were selectively chosen by Angkor’s rulers, engineers, and artisans for the construction of temples and the carving of architectural elements, inscribed stelae, and sacred sculptures. Based on a multidisciplinary approach, multi-scale analysis, and a large array of scientific data, this chapter presents our current knowledge about the typology and characteristics of these sandstones and their procurement and usage across space and time during the Angkor Period. The results and interpretations shed new light on the complex interconnections between materiality, technology, economy, power, artistry, and spirituality and highlight how sandstone contributed to the development and prosperity of the Khmer Empire.
AB - Angkor’s stone material culture has survived the effects of time and constitutes an essential corpus of evidence whose study holds the key to a better understanding of the ancient Cambodian culture. Amongst the diversity of rocks available, three main types of sandstone with specific properties and belonging to different geological formations were selectively chosen by Angkor’s rulers, engineers, and artisans for the construction of temples and the carving of architectural elements, inscribed stelae, and sacred sculptures. Based on a multidisciplinary approach, multi-scale analysis, and a large array of scientific data, this chapter presents our current knowledge about the typology and characteristics of these sandstones and their procurement and usage across space and time during the Angkor Period. The results and interpretations shed new light on the complex interconnections between materiality, technology, economy, power, artistry, and spirituality and highlight how sandstone contributed to the development and prosperity of the Khmer Empire.
KW - Cambodian Archaeology
KW - Khmer Empire
KW - Stone Procurement
U2 - 10.4324/9781351128940-25
DO - 10.4324/9781351128940-25
M3 - Chapter
SN - 9780815355953
SN - 9781032439266
T3 - Routledge Worlds
SP - 360
EP - 384
BT - The Angkorian World
A2 - Hendrickson, Mitch
A2 - Stark, Miriam T.
A2 - Evans, Damian
PB - Routledge, Taylor & Francis
CY - Abingdon, Oxon; New York, NY
ER -