A drone was used at three sites (photograph by Emilia Smagur)

Some of the sites were known previously thanks to research of French scientists who came to the area in the colonial period. However, since that time nobody has ever verified their discoveries. The first stage of the archaeologists' work was to predict where they may find artefacts and traces of activities of the communities that lived in the Siem Reap province on the basis of satellite photographs. Currently the research teams are investigating the prospective archaeological sites – during the last field season, which lasted from December to February, the range of the research was extended to about half of the province (about 5,000 square kilometres).

"The terrain was favourable for the task of searching for places shaped by the activities of man. It's a vast floodplain, not overgrown by tropical forest. The ancient settlements are very similar to tells from the Near East or Egypt – mounds that are formed through centuries of accumulation of human settlement remains," said Kasper Hanus, the coordinator of the JU Institute of Archaeology project.

After finding the sites in the field, the archaeologists marked them on their GPS receivers. They also carried out standard surface survey, during which the scientists searched for pieces of pottery and tools.

"Unfortunately, there were very few artefacts on the ground; however, the clearly visible defensive constructions, often surrounded by moats, were a more than adequate compensation," Hanus added.

Field research with the use of GPS (photograph by Emilia Smagur)

It was the settlement remains that riveted the archaeologists. Previously it was believed that the Khmer settlements from the Medieval period were rectangular in shape, but pottery from that period was found on oval-shaped mounds. The preliminary theory was that contrary to the popular opinion, there were two types of settlements during those times.

Some of the surveyed sites were particularly spacious and complex, which would cause the standard documentation procedures to become too time-consuming, therefore in three cases a drone was used. Thanks to the camera attached to the device the scientists were able to precisely photograph the sites and use the data to create an orthophotograph.

The last field season provided the archaeologists with experience that will surely be useful next year, when they are going to continue their research. The scientists also want to expand their activities to include the rest of the province. This will provide them with a full list of archaeological sites, which they will, in turn, send to local authorities responsible for the preservation of heritage.

The project: "North-western Cambodia settlement network in prehistoric and historic times" is funded  by the Diamond Grant programme of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education.

(PAP – Science and Scholarship in Poland)