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Chapter 15: Angkor’s Roads: An Archaeo-Lexical Approach
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191 Angkor’s Roads: an Archaeo-Lexical Approach Chapter 15 Angkor’s Roads: An Archaeo-Lexical Approach Eileen Lustig and Mitch Hendrickson Abstract Using the corpus of Pre-Angkorian (6th–8th century) and Angkorian (9th–14th century) inscriptions, this study finds a growing frequency and diversity of road terms, particularly during the 11th century when the Khmer began expanding across mainland Southeast Asia. This likely corresponds to the development of the durable roads of the Angkorian transport system. Analysis of the texts highlights a distinction between types of roads (e.g., thnal, phlu, vraḥ phlu) that may be discerned from archaeological features (causeways, embankments, main roads) visible in the landscape today. The paper supports the view that the road system was the product of centuries of inter-regional communication rather than the work of Jayavarman VII predominantly and demonstrates the utility of employing inscriptions to provide spatiotemporal contexts of features found through traditional archaeological investigations. Introduction On the road (adhvan) from Yaśodharapura to the capital of Campā [he constructed] 57 dwellings (ālaya). From the capital to the town of Vimāy, there were 17 dwellings. From the capital to Jayavatī, from this town to Jayasiṃhavatī, there to Jayavīravatī, from this town to Jayarājagiri, from Jayarājagiri to Śrī Suvīrapurī; from this town to Yaśodharapura (along this road) there were 44 inns of fire (vahnigṛhāṇi). There was one at Śrī Sūryaparvata, one at Śrī Vijayādityapura, one at Kalyāṇasiddhika. In total, 121 (inns of fire). K. 908D / 1191 CE The text from the Preah Khan stele provides the only detailed account of the Khmer road system and has influenced academic interpretations of the history of Angkorian transportation. Written during the reign of King Jayavarman VII (CE 1181–1219), the famed ruler known for his massive building program, it clearly states that he erected fire shrine resthouse temples (often referred to as dharmaśala, see Finot 1925) along three roadways. Archaeological survey confirming the existence of 17 laterite masonry fire shrines along the Northwest Road connecting Angkor to Phimai has led many scholars to link the construction of this formalized system to Jayavarman VII, the last of Angkor’s great kings (Higham 1989: 337; Freeman 1996: 154; Bruguier 2000: 542; Stark 2004: 109). A closer examination of the text, however, shows that he does not take responsibility for constructing the roads. Recent work integrating archaeological and historic records (see Hendrickson 2010a) has demonstrated that the roads are actually the product of several periods of construction, particularly during the 11th century expansion of the Khmer Empire. This paper presents an investigation of changes in the usage of transport terminology in all the published Khmer inscriptions, to test this new interpretation.1 By documenting the diversity of road terms, their historical frequency and spatial context, we seek to address four main questions: (1) Can we discern any changes in the terminology, in its diversity or word frequency, which might correspond with changes in the archaeological record? (2) How useful are the inscriptions for identifying individual items of transport infrastructure? (3) Can the inscriptions improve our understanding of the history of the development of the Angkorian transport network? and (4) Can visible features (e.g., temples, roads, resthouses) in the landscape help us to interpret epigraphic transport terminology? 191 Connecting Empires hi res combin191 191 8/24/2012 9:47:18 PM 192 Eileen Lustig and Mitch Hendrickson The Khmer Road System Traces of the Khmer road system were first systematically reported in the extensive site surveys of Étienne Aymonier (1900–4) and Étienne Edmond Lunet de Lajonquière (1901; 1902–11). Five main roads were identified radiating out from Angkor to its provincial centers across northern Cambodia, northwest Thailand and southern Laos. In addition to the raised earthen roads, some up to 5m high, the Khmer variously fitted these routes with support infrastructure including masonry resthouse temples, laterite bridges and water tanks [Fig. 15.1]. The implication from the archaeological evidence is that the Khmer had specific transport goals and were well aware of the importance of and requirements for regional transport by the 11th century, if not considerably earlier (Hendrickson 2010a). Today, it is possible to identify three different types of remnant Khmer roads: main roads, secondary roads and local access ways, including temple causeways. Main or formalized roads are the routes that connected Angkor to its provincial centers and served to facilitate long-distance communication. Secondary roads are local transportation routes around...