Pilot Lecture: Pyramids of the World—Angkor Wat

Course Overview

Explore the mysteries of the Khmer city of Angkor and learn who built the city and its most mesmerizing temples. This pilot lecture examines how Angkor was constructed and maintained—including its monumental temples and complex waterworks—and surveys the main archaeological and historical theories that seek to explain the city’s eventual decline and fall.

Course Details

• Course No.: 90122

• Format: Pilot lecture (single recorded session)

• Duration: 31 minutes

• Instructor: (not specified)

• Focus: Angkor Wat and Angkor’s urban complex, temple architecture, hydraulic systems, construction and maintenance practices, and competing explanations for decline (environmental, political, economic, and social)

Video Lectures (organized)

01: Pyramids of the World: Angkor Wat — 31 min

A focused investigation of the Khmer capital: who built Angkor and why; the design and construction of its temples (with emphasis on Angkor Wat); the organization and technology behind its irrigation and water-management systems; daily life and urban maintenance; and leading hypotheses about the causes of Angkor’s decline and abandonment.