Moat surrounding the temple complex
A large moat – a section of which is shown in the image – surrounds the Angkor Wat complex located in Siem Reap, Cambodia.
As you can see from the image, the moat is still filled with water and has steps to access it. It is about 650 ft wide and 4 ft deep and encompasses the entire temple perimeter of 3 miles. A stone causeway built across the moat connects the outer entrance to the main entrance of the temple. There is a similar causeway on the east entrance as well.
The moat served an important purpose from the architectural standpoint. It helped to stabilize the massive Angkor Wat structures by keeping the groundwater at a steady level, i.e., it acts as a reservoir that does not let the groundwater go down too low or high. This is one of the reasons why the Angkor Wat structures are almost intact even after 1000 years.
Related Pages
– Angkor Wat, Angkor Wat Bas-Reliefs, Angkor Thom, Bayon, Ta Prohm, Banteay Srei
– Phnom Kulen, Tonlé Sap, Cambodia
– Bali, Prambanan, Borobudur, Indonesia
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