{"title":"Reconstructing the ancient route network in the Thailand–Cambodia borders: A case study of the Angkorian Royal Road","authors":"Sutthikan Khamsiri, Pira Venunan, Chawalit Khaokheiw, Praon Silapanth, Santi Pailoplee","doi":"10.1002/arp.1897","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p>A large number of ancient remnants from the Angkor kingdom of the 15th–19th centuries are widely observable across present day north-eastern Thailand and Cambodia. Archaeologically, these features represent the ancient communities and were possibly connected according to various socioeconomic reasons. In order to reconstruct the route of human mobility between the remains, the geographic information system (GIS)-based least cost path (LCP) analysis was employed along the Angkor–Phimai route. By recognizing the geographic parameters, the mobility of 292 moated sites was tracked to eight mountain passes that traverse the barrier of the Dângrêk Mountain Range. The LCP-derived routes revealed that the Ta Muen pass was the most suitable (shortest source-to-site distance) route for almost all moated sites. When compared with a previous interpretation of the Angkorian Royal Road route, our LCP route conforms reasonably well when overlaid with this possible Royal Road. The locations of ancient activities were also in the vicinity of the dense LCP route, and most monuments were located within a 1.5 km buffer line. This underlines that the LCP track obtained in this study is reasonable with a high reliability and is beneficial for guiding further studies to find out more about the ancient remains or archaeological evidence in this area.</p>","PeriodicalId":55490,"journal":{"name":"Archaeological Prospection","volume":"30 3","pages":"357-368"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1000,"publicationDate":"2023-02-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Archaeological Prospection","FirstCategoryId":"89","ListUrlMain":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/arp.1897","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"0","JCRName":"ARCHAEOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
A large number of ancient remnants from the Angkor kingdom of the 15th–19th centuries are widely observable across present day north-eastern Thailand and Cambodia. Archaeologically, these features represent the ancient communities and were possibly connected according to various socioeconomic reasons. In order to reconstruct the route of human mobility between the remains, the geographic information system (GIS)-based least cost path (LCP) analysis was employed along the Angkor–Phimai route. By recognizing the geographic parameters, the mobility of 292 moated sites was tracked to eight mountain passes that traverse the barrier of the Dângrêk Mountain Range. The LCP-derived routes revealed that the Ta Muen pass was the most suitable (shortest source-to-site distance) route for almost all moated sites. When compared with a previous interpretation of the Angkorian Royal Road route, our LCP route conforms reasonably well when overlaid with this possible Royal Road. The locations of ancient activities were also in the vicinity of the dense LCP route, and most monuments were located within a 1.5 km buffer line. This underlines that the LCP track obtained in this study is reasonable with a high reliability and is beneficial for guiding further studies to find out more about the ancient remains or archaeological evidence in this area.
期刊介绍:
The scope of the Journal will be international, covering urban, rural and marine environments and the full range of underlying geology.
The Journal will contain articles relating to the use of a wide range of propecting techniques, including remote sensing (airborne and satellite), geophysical (e.g. resistivity, magnetometry) and geochemical (e.g. organic markers, soil phosphate). Reports and field evaluations of new techniques will be welcomed.
Contributions will be encouraged on the application of relevant software, including G.I.S. analysis, to the data derived from prospection techniques and cartographic analysis of early maps.
Reports on integrated site evaluations and follow-up site investigations will be particularly encouraged.
The Journal will welcome contributions, in the form of short (field) reports, on the application of prospection techniques in support of comprehensive land-use studies.
The Journal will, as appropriate, contain book reviews, conference and meeting reviews, and software evaluation.
All papers will be subjected to peer review.