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Eight buried towers and the remains of a massive spiral social organization created from sand have been get a line at Angkor Wat in Cambodia .
The monolithic social structure — almost a mile long — turn back a spiral design , with several rectangular spirals that form a giant structure , archaeologists say . " This structure , which has property of more than 1,500 m × 600 m ( about 1 mile by 1,970 substructure ) is the most strikingdiscovery associated with Angkor Watto date . Its role remains unknown and , as yet , it has no know equivalent in the Angkorian world , " Roland Fletcher , a University of Sydney prof , said in a statement put out by the university .
At Angkor Wat, a massive sand structure encompassing several rectangular spirals was discovered using a laser-scanning technique called LiDAR.
Today , the whorled bodily structure is surd to make out on the soil , having been obscured by modern features and vegetation .
By examining the nautical mile - farseeing whorled structure and the Harlan Stone towers , researchers date stamp them back to whenAngkor Watwas first built in the 12th century A.D. [ See exposure of the Spiral Structure and Buried Towers at Angkor Wat ]
King Suryavarman II hadAngkor Wat built as a Hindu templeto the god Vishnu . The temple has a 213 - foot - tall ( 65 measure ) cardinal pillar that is surrounded by four humble tugboat and a series of enclosure walls . The layout " is considered to correspond with the cosmology of Mount Meru and the surrounding Sea of Milk from which ambrosia was churned by the deity and demon , " wrote a research squad in an article published this month in the daybook Antiquity .
The remains of eight towers (marked in yellow) were discovered near the western gateway of Angkor Wat.
Antiquity recently publish a special section dedicated to the late archaeological enquiry at Angkor Wat .
whorled enigma
The spiral structure is difficult to make out from the dry land , and archaeologist found itusing LiDAR — a laser - scanning technology that allows scientist to detect structures obscured by flora or modern ontogenesis .
When surveil on the ground the social structure turned out to be made of " archaeologically sterile banks of sand , " meaning it contain no artifact from the past tense , write archeologist Damian Evans , a researcher with École française d’Extrême - Orient , and Roland Fletcher in an Antiquity article .
" Quite how the spirals function is not at all clear , " Evans and Fletcher write . One possibleness is that it is a garden that provided the tabernacle with green groceries for rituals and feeding , the spiral pattern possibly having a spiritual significance .
Evans and Fletcher found that the spiraling structure was not in use for long . A channel that cut through the spiral design was build by and by in the 12th one C .
" The spiral characteristic would only have been functional for a brief period during the mid - to - late twelfth century A.D. , " Evans and Fletcher write . They say that it ’s possible the helical structure was never finish .
Buried tower
Another find , made using ground - infiltrate radiolocation and archaeological archeological site , are the corpse of what appear to be eight demolished towers constructed out of sandstone and laterite ( a type of rock ) . They were get on the western side of Angkor Wat beside a gateway across the moat .
The dating is not entirely clear but it appears that many of the tower were created during the former - to - mid 12th century when Angkor Wat was being construct .
Archaeologists find that some of the tower form a series of squares that may have bear one or more structures . They also found that many of the towers were construct before the gateway wall .
They conjecture that the towers could have patronage a shrine that was in utilization while structure of Angkor Wat was underway .
" The constellation of the buried ' tower ' contains the unequalled possible action that a shrine was built on the western side of the Angkor Wat political program during the period when the chief synagogue was being make , " a enquiry team wrote in an clause bring out in Antiquity .
Once the main synagogue was reconstruct and work on the gateway across the westerly moat began , the shrine could have been torn down , research worker say .
More discoveries
archaeologist uncovered several other secrets of Angkor Wat . For instance , the LiDAR sight revealed the remains of homes and pond that would have been used by workers who service the synagogue .
Additionally , researchers found that later in Angkor Wat ’s history — after it had been converted toa Buddhist temple — the situation was turned into a military fortification with wooden structures being ramp up to guard the moated site .
" Angkor Wat is the first and only sleep together representative of an Angkorian tabernacle being systematically modify for use in a defensive capacity , " Fletcher state . The fortification of it was " one of the last major constructions at Angkor and is perhaps declarative of its end . "
