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275 Chapter 21 New Data on Khmer Kiln Sites Ea Darith, Chhay Visoth, Chap Sopheara, Lam Sopheak, Loeung Ravatey, Sok Keo Sovannara, and Em Socheata Abstract During the Angkor period (ninth to thirteenth centuries), many monuments and bārāy, as well as city infrastructure, were constructed in the Angkor region. While a number of ceramic kiln sites have been found throughout Cambodia and northeast Thailand, the study of ancient ceramic kilns in Cambodia has not progressed as much as the study of Khmer kilns in northeast Thailand. Recently, seven groups of kilns were identified in the Angkor area of Siem Reap (between Phnom Kulen and Roluos), four groups of kilns identified in Banteay Meanchey Province, and one group in Kandal province. Based on the surface collection of shards from these groups of kiln, we know that those in the Angkor area produced mainly ash-glazed wares and unglazed wares, and that the shapes are limited. In contrast, the groups of kilns at Banteay Meanchey Province produced a large number of brown-glazed wares in a variety of shapes. The shards from kilns in Kandal Province seem to continue shapes and brown-glazed wares from the Angkor area and Banteay Meanchey Province, but with slight variations. The study of Khmer ceramic kilns in Cambodia has only just begun. We have scant information about the kilns and their production. As of 2001 only one group of kilns (the Tani kiln site) had been excavated in a joint research project between the APSARA Authority, Sophia University Angkor International Mission, and the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Nara (though more recently, excavations have commenced at another kiln group, Sar Sey, which will be compared to the Tani kiln site). In the future, we hope to also use remote sensing to analyse the pattern of kilns in order to compare their structure and evolution, as well as to identify more kiln sites. At the height of the Khmer civilization, from the ninth to fifteenth centuries, the kingdom was centered in the Angkor area, and its boundaries extended to the present-day borders of Thailand and Burma and north to Vientiane in Laos. Numerous small and large monuments, water reservoirs, roads, and bridges were constructed. Alongside this infrastructure were craft industries as indicated by the metal objects and ceramics found at Angkor. Even though a French researcher (Aymonier 1901: 414–5) identified kiln sites on the plateau of Phnom Kulen more than a century ago, research on these industries has only recently begun as previous researchers concentrated on other topics, such as monuments and related art, water reservoirs, and historical events. The first scholarly publication focused solely on Khmer ceramics was published in conjunction with the exhibition of Khmer ceramics organized by the Southeast Asian Ceramic Society in Singapore in 1981 (Groslier 1981). Following the discovery of kilns in the Angkor area in 1995, the study of Khmer ceramics on the basis of kiln sites located in Cambodia was initiated through a joint research project between the APSARA (Authority for Protection and Management of Angkor and the Region of Siem Reap), the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Nara (NRICPN); and Sophia University Angkor International Mission (Aoyagi et al. 1998–2001; Ea Darith 2000; National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Nara 2001). This paper will introduce the known kiln sites and then discuss the types of wares identified at the sites. 21 ISEA.indd 275 6/6/08 10:33:18 AM 276 EA DARITH, et al. Khmer Kiln Sites To date, a number of Khmer kiln sites have been discovered throughout Cambodia and in Northeast Thailand. In Cambodia, kilns are found in three provinces: the Angkor area of Siem Reap Province, Banteay Meanchey Province, and in Kandal Province to the south of Phnom Penh (Figure 21.1). In Thailand, through research conducted by Fine Arts Department, Khmer kiln sites have been found in Buriram Province. However, the number of kiln sites is still unclear. By the early 1980s, some 200 kiln mounds had been identified by the Fine Arts Department in Lahan Sai district, and in 1986, another official survey by the Fine Arts Department again documented 40 kiln mounds in Tanon Noi village, Ban Kruat district (Brown 1988: 45). Fig 21.1 Khmer kiln sites in Cambodia. (Map reprinted with permission of APSARA) Khmer Kiln Sites in Cambodia Among the Khmer kiln sites found in the three provinces in Cambodia, only the sites in Siem Reap...

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