A view on Greater Angkor: a multi-scalar approach for investigating the Khmer forests

This paper will focus on the results of a joint international project (a partnership between the University of Sydney and the University of Venice) that develops and applies satellite remote sensing methodologies for finding and mapping unknown archaeological sites in the surroundings of Angkor, in Cambodia. Long famous for its temples, this World Heritage site is now increasingly recognized as a vast, low-density urban landscape. The project consists of using the spectral content of remotely sensed images to reveal the presence of buried sites and structures of the ancient Khmer landscape on the basis of the different spectral characteristics of the terrain and vegetation. By applying spectral analysis, the current research aims to scan vegetated and bare soil areas in order to clarify features that are ambiguous in existing maps and reveal features which would otherwise remain undetected.