S10-5

First Study of Angkorian Copper Production: The Trapeang Choan Sanlong Site, Preah Vihear Province, Cambodia

Sébastien Clouet1, Brice Vincent2, David Bourgarit3

1Sorbonne University, France

2French School of Asian Studies (EFEO), France

3Center for Research and Restoration of Museums of France (C2RMF)

France

Within the framework of the LANGAU project (dir. Brice Vincent, EFEO), this research focuses on copper-base metallurgy in Angkorian Cambodia ((9th - 15th  century).  century). Following the characterisation of a large corpus of copper-base finished products and the excavation of a royal foundry site at Angkor, new research conducted in the Chhaep metallurgical district, Preah Vihear province, has provided the first evidences for local copper production, 170 km northeast of Angkor. The main archaeological site studied, namely Trapeang Choan Sanlong, delivered proofs of Angkorian metallurgical occupations that spread over more than four centuries, between the late 9th and the early 14th  century) century CE.

For now, two field campaigns allowed us to identify and locate over an area of 10 hectares a number of remains of workshops, while the study of the associated metallurgical artefacts – mainly slags and technical ceramics, with also some stone tools and crucibles – helped in documenting various technical processes involved in the chaîne opératoire of copper production (ore washing and crushing, smelting, refining, etc.). More specifically, an analytical campaign conducted on fifty slag samples (PIXE, XRD, metallography) and two copper samples (ICP-MS) at the C2RMF in Paris, France, provided comprehensive data on smelting operations and raw materials. As part of this ongoing research, the present paper aims at introducing preliminary results related to the specific question of copper extractive metallurgy in Angkorian Cambodia through the example of Trapeang Choan Sanlong site.