Angkor Wat's moat channels mountain water underground, sustaining its level & irrigating fields. ~133M cubic tons moved — exceeding the ~90M tons in Giza's 2M blocks.
Engineering scale of Angkor Wat's's moat

Key facts
- Angkor Wat's's moat channels water from a distant mountain underground
- The moat both sustains its water level and pumps water to surrounding fields for irrigation
- Calculations estimate 133 million cubic tons of mass were moved to construct the moat
- This is more mass than the estimated 90 million tons in the Great Pyramid's 2 million blocks
- An upper reservoir at Angkor Wat's was engineered watertight to hold water
Site mentioned
Sources
contactatthecabin.com
Linked in video description
quest4ancients.com
Linked in video description
The Water System of Angkor: Barays, Moats & Collapseadventurescambodia.com
How the Khmer Empire built a 1000 km² hydraulic system, why Angkor Wat has a 5.5 km moat, and how climate broke it. A local's plain guide.
Angkor Wat - the Jewel of Cambodia - The Fog Watchthefogwatch.com
Angkor Wat is the control of water through large-scale hydrological works around the complex. The ponds or moat around the Angkor temple complex is over 200m ...
Angkor: Asia's ancient 'Hydraulic City'bbc.com
the moats that surround each temple were designed to provide a constant supply of groundwater. the hydraulic system's barays and waterways ...
(DOC) Angkor Wat: History of Ancient Moatacademia.edu
Angkor Wat's moat, 650 ft wide and 13 ft deep, stabilizes its foundations. The moat acts as a reservoir, maintaining groundwater levels for structural integrity ...
rediscovering the ancient hydraulic system of Angkor and ...ijih.org
Angkor experienced a drought; the Angkor Wat moats and the Srah Srang dried up, and this was followed by floods every year from 2009 until 2013.
Keep exploring
Every site on this page sits on the globe, and the people who research them are on the Discord.
3D Globe · Sites by country · Story Archive · Research Library · Weekly Journal · Search
AI-generated text · images from the original sources · always verify with the sources.
