Research potential

The great temples scattered across the Angkorian plain testify to the accomplishments of Cambodia's ancient kings, to the aesthetic refinement and artisanal skill of its people, to religious fervor and stately might. For more than a century, researchers have meticulously studied Angkor's architecture, religious art and stone inscriptions to reconstruct the history of an empire. We now know the order of regal succession and the feats of great kings. Much indeed has been learned, yet so very much remains to be discovered. How, for example, did the ordinary people live ? How did they store their water, their wax ? How did the common people bury their dead ? Did they use plates and bowls ? If so, what were they made of ? Who made them and how? These and other questions can be answered through the study of kiln sites. But again, only if they are preserved. Once on the black market, a piece loses its primary historical value. Once the sites are illegally excavated, ancient artisanal methods are lost forever. Kilns producing green-glazed pottery were discovered by researchers in the Kulen moutains north of the Angkor plain aound the turn of the century, but the vicissitudes of history have until quite recently prevented true research of these sites.

A number of Khmer kilns located on the territory of modern Thailand have been more thoroughly studied, revealing techniques and styles of this ancient Khmer province. Much speculation has been made regarding Angkorian production itself. Though Khmer pottery is found in abundance throughout the Archaeological Park, there is still little understanding as to exactly when, where and how it was made, or for what purposes it was meant. Certain types of ware are thought to have been produced only in the provinces, and transported for use in the capital. Many imagine that foreign imports - especially Chinese - may have been used primarily in the royal court, while Khmer products have more mundane uses. Techniques and styles are thought to have received considerable influence from China. Much remains to be learned about these and other important questions. Indeed, as knowledge of evolution in ceramic technique and design is one key factor in dating stratigraphic layers and associated structures, archaelogists expect these recent kiln site discoveries to increase our understanding of the chronological progression of Angkorian civilization.