A brief history of Angkor’s iron: reconstructing multi-scalar chronologies in the Phnom Dek metallurgical landscape, Cambodia
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Date
2021-11-17
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation
Abstract
Iron was an essential commodity in the rise of Angkor, the largest and most influential state in
mainland Southeast Asia between the 9th to 13th centuries. Multidisciplinary research around
Phnom Dek in northern Cambodia revealed an extensive metallurgical landscape spanning over
1300 years of production activity and a dramatic increase in the scale of smelting correlating with
the expansion of the Khmer Empire. Extensive AMS radiocarbon dating of in-slag charcoals from
across the Phnom Dek region and materials recovered from furnaces and occupation at the site of
Tonle Bak are used here to reconstruct the multi-scalar chronologies of production (furnace, mound,
site, region) during this important time in Southeast Asian history. By integrating geomagnetic
intensity data from furnace bases, we demonstrate that it is possible to identify temporal differences
between ‘contemporary’ smelting sites within a single mound. At the scale of the slag mound and
site we posit that the terminal use relates to ritual while the regional pattern indicates the Khmer
state’s desire to increase production and improve access to iron resources needed for temples,
warfare and daily life.
Description
Keywords
Iron, Cambodia, Asia, Land use, Carbon 14, Metallurgy, Slags, Furnaces
Citation
Hendrickson, M., Hua, Q., Chai, S., Tauxe, L., Leroy, S., & Phon, K. (2021). A brief history of Angkor’s iron: reconstructing multi-scalar chronologies in the Phnom Dek metallurgical landscape, Cambodia. Oral presentation to the 15th International Conference on Accelerator Mass Spectrometry. ANSTO Sydney, Australia. November 15th – 19th, 2021. (pp. 128). Retrieved from: https://ams15sydney.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/AMS-15-Full-Program-and-Abstract-Book-R-1.pdf