A Landscape-Scale Geophysical Exploration of Early Modern Capitals (c. 1400-1800): Results from Longvek, and Oudong, Cambodia

Belinda Duke* and Martin Polkinghorne

This paper presents the results of a landscape-scale investigation of two post-Angkor Early Modern capitals, Longvek and Oudong. The Early Modern period is chronologically situated between the Angkor period (c. 800–1400 CE) and the emergence of modern Cambodia (c. 1800–1900 CE). Until recently, understanding of this period relied largely on the Royal Cambodian Chronicles. However, recent archaeological research has significantly reshaped interpretations, shifting the dominant narrative from one of collapse and abandonment to one characterised by mobility, trade, and mercantile wealth. To investigate the subsurface landscapes of these capitals, remote-sensing techniques, including magnetometry and ground-penetrating radar, were employed to identify buried archaeological features associated with urban occupation. The resulting geophysical datasets expand current understanding of Early Modern settlement patterns by identifying additional areas of potential occupation, first suggested through spatial analysis of rice-field configurations. Magnetometry also revealed extensive areas of culturally modified sediment, indicating occupation zones concealed beneath contemporary rice fields. Analysis of rice-field configurations and large-scale landscape features at Longvek, considered alongside historical analysis of primary sources such as government codes and tax reforms, provides evidence supporting interpretations of political control over the landscape, including the management of agricultural production and labour, supporting Nihn (2014) early analysis. The findings also contribute to ongoing debates by suggesting forms of continuity between the Angkor and Early Modern periods.