By: J. and S. Richter
Notice: This article is written and intended to publish in 2009. For reasons unknown, we never get the replies from the news agents we sent our article to. Such a wonderful heritage, it would be a pity to simply let anything about it to die out. So thanks Blogger for a chance!
Do you have computer and internet-access? Then, if you like, take a few minutes, open Google Earth and find Phnom Penh, zoom into the south eastern outskirts, to the Cheung Ek killing fields. From there just move about 1km further to the south-east (for the specialists among you: around UTM 48P 0490010 1268690 at WGS84), and you’re at the place we are talking about. We are not looking for a tiny detail, but a perfectly circular shaped structure with 700m of diameter. Unfortunately, you should do it soon. When Google Earth gets new satellite images, there might be much less left to see.
First
time I recognized that place was some time in early 2004 at a b/w aerial image
from 1998. Working and living not far from there, it caught my interest and I searched
around for information. But nobody of my Cambodian colleagues and friends could
tell me anything about that. It was the first time I was wondering how such a huge
site can be so unknown and ignored. So I went looking for this place. In fact,
if you’re there on the ground you will only recognize it when knowing where and
what to look for. 700m of diameter is quite a distance, the earth walls are not
high and not complete anymore and covered by vegetation, the inner ditch is
partly leveled, and the area is – or better: was – dominantly structured by
rice fields like all other area around.
As
that strange structure once had my attention, I continued to search for
information about it. At Monument Bookstore I finally discovered the Khmer and
English language publication “Banteay Kou: Memotian Circular Earthworks” from
Thuy Chanthourn, published in 2000. I learned that such structures are already known
since the French colonial time. A total of 43 of them are registered so far, 28
in Cambodia, mainly in Memot region, and 15 across the border in neighboring
Vietnam. The structures are normally only about 2-3 km away from each other. Most
of the Cambodian structures have diameters of around 200m (100m-260m) with
exception of a site named Trabaek which has 440m of diameter. Even if the Khmer
names Banthey Kou and Banteay Borom Boran refer to them as
fortress, their purpose as defense structures might be questionable: It would
have been not exactly advantageous for the defenders to have the ditch - water
filled or not - on their inner side of the wall. Those structures could date
back till around 2000 BC. Let’s realize that the Cambodian history consists of
much more than the famous Angkor, and consequently dates back much beyond the
12th century!
Altogether,
the Cheung Ek circular structure seems to be rather unique. First by its
location far away from the normal area of occurrence, and second, moreover, by its,
even by a nowadays view, huge dimension of around 3 times of the other known
structures. Surprisingly, despite this special characteristics and its
prominent location near Phnom Penh, the structure is not among the listed known
circular earthworks in the mentioned book. However, it would be not correct to
say it’s completely unknown. Some French language publications at least are
mentioning the site or showing photos, like the 1997 “Phnom Penh developpement
urbain et patrimoine” (p. 75-77), or the 2005 “Paysages et Plantations de Phnom
Penh” (p. 21). But a national Cambodian recognition could not be found, and
what’s going on at this site seems to proof that there is no awareness of it at
all.
When
I visited the site for the first time in July 2004, I encountered a system of recently
dug trenches, up to more then 1m deep, crossing the area inside the wall as
well as the ditch and the wall itself to further continue outside. At this time
I considered that as new irrigation channels. I wasn’t aware that that’s a
common way for private property demarcation at the beginning of an unbelievable
land speculation boom to be come. Following this new trenches I observed lots of
pottery artifacts, often clustered, almost all over the area inside the wall.
A year or so later I guided some foreign experts to the site. They have been working with the Faculty of Archeology of the Royal University of Fine Arts (RUFA). According to them, some of their counterparts stated having heard about the site, but none of them has been there. All pottery artifacts we collected at the trenches – some quite interesting and strange pieces among them - were handed over to RUFA where they have been proofed as pre-Angkorian.
My
last visit so far to that place was in April 2008, this time together with Suorsdey. It was the most depressing
visit. We found this unique pre-Angkorian place being used as soil digging lot for
filling construction land somewhere else. Several sites with concentrations of
pottery artifacts have been cut through. Nobody will ever know how many are
already gone forever.
A just
“forgotten place” is something what can be changed when the right time has come.
But having destroyed a place in such way is something final. No way back. Gone
forever.
How
can a country, which always and with all reason is proud of its ancient history,
allow such destruction of a unique national heritage?
How
can a country, which seems easily being ready even to go to war for defending an
ancient temple at its border, at the same time allow the ignorant destruction
of such a prehistoric site through own nationals right at the outskirts of the
capital? Does a site need foreign interest and recognition to become valuable
for the own history?
Or,
if this is the point, aren’t there other ways to squeeze profit out from the
area, especially as it is located so close to one of the most frequented
tourist spots of Phnom Penh?
According
to latest information from 01/2009 which I got after leaving the country in mid
2008, the soil digging at this site didn’t progress much since then. But we
should be realistic: We just had a drop back in construction activity due to
the world financial crisis. And the next dry (=digging) season is right ahead. Many
signs, offering land for sale, are in place now too. Could anybody imagine this
happen in Angkor?
There
is still something left to safe. But certainly not long anymore. Do we have to
hurry for seeing the Cheung Ek pre-historic site before the last few remains of
it, after thousands of years of existence, are taken away?
Personal remark:
We're following up
for this topic since many years. The feeling grew more and more that there is a
need and responsibility for at least trying to make esp. the Cambodian public
aware of what’s going on with their national heritage. However, beside time
constraints, we always worried about waking the interest of the wrong people – irresponsible
collectors and looters in search for historic artifacts for illegal sale. Unfortunately,
as the situation at this site has worsened, the danger of illegal looting
became the least relevant.
Update: We haven't had the chance to visit Cambodia again since our departure in 2009. However, thanks to Google Earth for making it possible for us to follow up the development of this site. Luckily, it seems, so far the damages don't increase as much as we worried. Below is an image from Google Earth 2010, not the latest but the one with the best quality we could find.
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The Phnom Penh cicular earthwork as seen on Google Earth |
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The newly dug trenches in 2004 |
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Layers of pottery artifacts at the trenches in 2004 |
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Soil digging inside the wall in April 2008. Two cut spots, pottery artifacts are visible |
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Close look to one of the artifact spots |
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90% complete pot still "standing" on a plate. |
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Sad. Prehistoric site for sale. In the background, water filled soil digging hole |
Update: We haven't had the chance to visit Cambodia again since our departure in 2009. However, thanks to Google Earth for making it possible for us to follow up the development of this site. Luckily, it seems, so far the damages don't increase as much as we worried. Below is an image from Google Earth 2010, not the latest but the one with the best quality we could find.
This is extremely interesting as a historical site - and deeply depressing that nothing is done to prevent careless destruction. If I get a chance it could be fine to take a look at the site.
ReplyDeleteIn Denmark we have several ring fortresses from the Viking age but not of this dimension and age. But perhaps they might provide a clue to the sites in Cambodia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viking_ring_fortress
Thanks for your post. You should know that this site has been investigated for many years by a Cambodian archaeologist, Kaseka Phon. Here are a few links about this work: http://www.southeastasianarchaeology.com/2013/05/20/public-lecture-research-at-the-cheung-ek-archaeological-site/
ReplyDeleteA chapter from a book where he wrote about this site: http://goo.gl/oEa9JP
I also co-authored an article with him and two other Cambodian colleagues about archaeology in post-Khmer Rouge Cambodia: https://www.academia.edu/6092376/Archaeology_in_Post-Khmer_Rouge_Cambodia
I have a post about the circular earthwork sites in Cambodia and visiting Cheung Ek on my blog: https://alisonincambodia.wordpress.com/2009/02/27/circular-earthwork-sites/
It is important to note that the Cheung Ek site is actually quite different from the Memotian circular earthwork sites. Chantourn's work actually has drawn quite heavily on some earlier research on those sites by Mike Dega. Here are some links to his work: http://books.google.com/books/about/Prehistoric_circular_earthworks_of_Cambo.html?id=LihmAAAAMAAJ
Open access article: http://journals.lib.washington.edu/index.php/BIPPA/article/view/10674/0
All the best
Alison Carter
https://alisonincambodia.wordpress.com/about/