Most people don’t realize that Angkor Wat is just 1 of more than 1000 temples in the greater Angkor region. This settlement may have been home to 900k people at its height in the 13th century. Angkor was comparable to the 1m people who lived in ancient Rome at its height. Researchers were able to map 10Ks of archaeological features at Angkor. Because Angkorian people built their houses out of organic materials and on wooden posts, these structures are long gone and not visible on the landscape. But lidar revealed a complex urban landscape complete with city blocks consisting of the mounds where people built their houses and small ponds located next to them. This work has created one of the most comprehensive maps of a sprawling medieval city in the world, leading us to ask: How did the city develop over time, and how many people lived here?

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