Editing Angkor (section)

== Historical overview ==
[[File:Angkor Thom Porta Sud interior.jpg|thumb|upright|South gate into [[Angkor Thom]]]]
[[File:Angkor Wat East Gate.png|thumb|The east gate or "exit" of Angkor Wat]]

[[File:Angkor sunrise.JPG|thumb|Angkor Wat at sunrise]]

=== Seat of the Khmer Empire ===
The Angkorian period may have begun shortly after 800&nbsp;AD, when the Khmer King [[Jayavarman II]] announced the independence of Kambujadesa ([[Cambodia]]) from [[Java]]. According to [[Sdok Kok Thom#Inscription|Sdok Kok Thom inscription]],{{sfn|Coedès|1968|p=97}}{{sfn|Higham|2014|p=353–354}} circa 781 [[Indrapura (Khmer)|Indrapura]] was the first capital of [[Jayavarman II]], located in [[Banteay Prey Nokor|Banteay Prei Nokor]], near today's [[Kampong Cham (city)|Kompong Cham]].{{sfn|Higham|1989|p=324 ff}} After he eventually returned to his home, the former kingdom of [[Chenla]], he quickly built up his influence, conquered a series of competing kings, and in 790 became king of a kingdom called '''Kambuja''' by the Khmer. He then moved his court northwest to [[Mahendraparvata]], in present day [[Phnom Kulen|Kulen mountains]], inland north from the great lake of [[Tonle Sap]].{{sfn|Higham|2001|p=53 ff}}{{sfn|Chandler|1992|p=34 ff}}

He also established the city of [[Hariharalaya]] (now known as Roluos) at the northern end of [[Tonlé Sap]]. Through a program of military campaigns, alliances, marriages and land grants, he achieved a unification of the country bordered by [[China]] to the north, [[Champa]] (now Central Vietnam) to the east, the ocean to the south and a place identified by a stone inscription as "the land of [[cardamom]]s and [[mango]]es" to the west. In 802, Jayavarman articulated his new status by declaring himself "universal monarch" (''chakravartin'') and, in a move that was to be imitated by his successors and that linked him to the cult of [[Shiva|Siva]], taking on the epithet of "god-king" (''[[devaraja]]'').{{sfn|Higham|2001|p=53 ff}}{{sfn|Chandler|1992|p=34 ff}} Before Jayavarman, Cambodia had consisted of a number of politically independent principalities collectively known to the Chinese by the names [[Kingdom of Funan|Funan]] and [[Chenla]].{{sfn|Chandler|1992|p=26}}{{sfn|Coedès|1943|p=4}}

In 889, [[Yasovarman I|Yasovarman]] ascended to the throne.{{sfn|Higham|2001|p=63 ff}} A great king and an accomplished builder, he was celebrated by one inscription as "a lion-man; he tore the enemy with the claws of his grandeur; his teeth were his policies; his eyes were the Veda."{{sfn|Chandler|1992|p=40}} Near the old capital of [[Hariharalaya]], Yasovarman constructed a new city, called [[Yasodharapura]], centered on the hill and temple of [[Phnom Bakheng]].{{sfn|Higham|1989|p=350}} In the tradition of his predecessors, he also constructed a massive reservoir called [[baray]].{{sfn|Coedès|1943|p=10}}

The significance of such reservoirs has been debated by modern scholars, some of whom have seen in them a means of irrigating rice fields, and others of whom have regarded them as religiously charged symbols of the great mythological oceans surrounding [[Mount Meru]], the abode of the gods. The mountain, in turn, was represented by an elevated temple, in which the "god-king" was represented by a [[lingam]].{{sfn|Coedès|1943|p=10}} In accordance with this cosmic symbolism, Yasovarman built his central temple on a low hill known as [[Phnom Bakheng]], surrounding it with a moat fed from the baray. He also built numerous other Hindu temples and [[ashram]]s, or retreats for ascetics.{{sfn|Higham|2001|p=60}}{{sfn|Chandler|1992|p=38 f}}

Over the next 300 years, between 900 and 1200, the [[Khmer Empire]] produced some of the world's most magnificent architectural masterpieces in the area known as Angkor. Most are concentrated in an area approximately {{convert|15|mi}} east to west and {{convert|5|mi}} north to south, although the Angkor Archaeological Park, which administers the area, includes sites as far away as [[Kbal Spean]], about {{convert|30|mi}} to the north. Some 72 major temples or other buildings are found within this area, and the remains of several hundred additional minor temple sites are scattered throughout the landscape beyond.<ref name="Evans PNAS" />

Because of the low-density and dispersed nature of the medieval Khmer settlement pattern, Angkor lacks a formal boundary, and its extent is therefore difficult to determine. However, a specific area of at least {{convert|1000|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}} beyond the major temples is defined by a complex system of infrastructure, including roads and canals that indicate a high degree of connectivity and functional integration with the urban core. In terms of spatial extent (although not in terms of population), this makes it the largest urban agglomeration in recorded history prior to the [[Industrial Revolution]], easily surpassing the nearest claim by the [[Maya civilization|Maya]] city of [[Tikal]].<ref name="Evans PNAS" /> At its peak, the city occupied an area greater than modern [[Paris]], and its buildings use far more stone than all of the Egyptian structures combined.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/specials/ancient-mysteries/angkor-wat-temples/ |title= Lost City of Angkor Wat |website= National geographic |access-date= 28 March 2018 |archive-date= 3 March 2014 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140303200948/http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/specials/ancient-mysteries/angkor-wat-temples/ |url-status= dead }}</ref>

=== Construction of Angkor Wat ===
{{Further |Angkor Wat}}
[[File:Suryavarman II Angkor Wat 0869.jpg|thumb|right|Suryavarman II]]
The single largest temple of the Angkorian region, [[Angkor Wat]], was built between 1113 and 1150 by King [[Suryavarman II]]. Suryavarman ascended to the throne after prevailing in a battle with a rival prince. An inscription says that, in the course of combat, Suryavarman leapt onto his rival's war elephant and killed him, just as the mythical bird-man [[Garuda]] slays a serpent.{{sfn|Higham|2001|p=112 ff}}{{sfn|Chandler|1992|p=49}}

After consolidating his political position through military campaigns, diplomacy, and a firm domestic administration, Suryavarman launched into the construction of Angkor Wat as his personal temple mausoleum. Breaking with the tradition of the Khmer kings, and influenced perhaps by the concurrent rise of [[Vaisnavism]] in India, he dedicated the temple to [[Vishnu]] rather than to [[Shiva|Siva]]. With walls nearly half a mile long on each side, Angkor Wat grandly portrays the [[Hindu]] cosmology, with the central towers representing [[Mount Meru]], home of the gods; the outer walls, the mountains enclosing the world; and the moat, the oceans beyond.{{sfn|Chandler|1992|p=50 f}}

The traditional theme of identifying the Khmer devaraja with the gods, and his residence with that of the celestials, is very much in evidence. The measurements themselves of the temple and its parts in relation to one another have cosmological significance.{{sfn|Chandler|1992|p=50 f}} Suryavarman had the walls of the temple decorated with [[bas relief]]s depicting not only scenes from mythology, but also from the life of his own imperial court. In one of the scenes, the king himself is portrayed as larger in size than his subjects, sitting cross-legged on an elevated throne and holding court, while a bevy of attendants make him comfortable with the aid of parasols and fans.

{{wide image|Angkor Wat reflejado en un estanque 07.jpg|1000px|alt=Panorama of Angkor Wat|The main temple reflected in the northern reflection pond. Angkor Wat, Siem Reap, Cambodia.}}

=== Jayavarman VII ===
{{Main|Jayavarman VII}}
[[File:Guimet IMG 6009 Jayavarman7.JPG|thumb|right|upright|A bust of Jayavarman&nbsp;VII on display at [[Musee Guimet]], Paris]]

Following the death of Suryavarman around 1150&nbsp;AD, the kingdom fell into a period of internal strife. Its neighbors to the east, the [[Cham (Asia)|Cham]] of what is now southern Vietnam, took advantage of the situation in 1177 to launch a water-borne invasion up the [[Mekong]] River and across [[Tonlé Sap]]. The Cham forces were successful in sacking the Khmer capital of [[Yasodharapura]] and in killing the reigning king. However, a Khmer prince who was to become King [[Jayavarman VII]] rallied his people and defeated the Cham in battles on the lake and on the land. In 1181, Jayavarman assumed the throne. He was to be the greatest of the Angkorian kings.{{sfn|Higham|2001|p=120 ff}}

Over the ruins of Yasodharapura, Jayavarman constructed the walled city of [[Angkor Thom]], as well as its geographic and spiritual center, the temple known as the [[Bayon]]. Bas-reliefs at the Bayon depict not only the king's battles with the Cham, but also scenes from the life of Khmer villagers and courtiers. Jayavarman oversaw the period of Angkor's most prolific construction, which included building of the well-known temples of [[Ta Prohm]] and [[Preah Khan]], dedicating them to his parents.<ref name="WorldArch">Tom St John Gray, [http://www.world-archaeology.com/features/angkor-wat-temple-of-boom/ Angkor Wat: Temple of Boom] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130317031150/http://www.world-archaeology.com/features/angkor-wat-temple-of-boom/ |date=March 17, 2013}}, World Archeology, 7 November 2011.</ref>

This massive program of construction coincided with a transition in the state religion from [[Hinduism]] to [[Mahayana Buddhism]], since Jayavarman himself had adopted the latter as his personal faith. During Jayavarman's reign, Hindu temples were altered to display images of the [[Gautama Buddha|Buddha]], and Angkor Wat briefly became a Buddhist shrine. Following his death, the revival of Hinduism as the state religion included a large-scale campaign of desecrating Buddhist images, and continued until [[Theravada Buddhism]] became established as the land's dominant religion from the 14th century.{{sfn|Higham|2001|p=116}}

=== Zhou Daguan ===
The year 1296 marked the arrival at Angkor of the Chinese diplomat [[Zhou Daguan]] representing the [[Yuan dynasty]]. Zhou's one-year sojourn in the Khmer capital during the reign of King [[Indravarman III]] is historically significant, because he penned a still-surviving account, ''[[The Customs of Cambodia]]'', of approximately forty pages detailing his observations of Khmer society. Some of the topics he addressed in the account were those of religion, justice, kingship, societal norms, agriculture, slavery, birds, vegetables, bathing, clothing, tools, draft animals, and commerce.{{sfn|Higham|2001|p=134 ff}}{{sfn|Chandler|1992|p=70 ff}}

In one passage, he described a royal procession consisting of soldiers, numerous servant women and concubines, ministers and princes, and finally, "the sovereign, standing on an elephant, holding his sacred sword in his hand." Together with the inscriptions that have been found on Angkorian [[stela]]e, temples and other monuments, and with the [[bas-reliefs]] at the [[Bayon]] and [[Angkor Wat]], Zhou's journal is the most important source of information about everyday life at Angkor. Filled with vivid anecdotes and sometimes incredulous observations of a civilization that struck Zhou as colorful and exotic, it is an entertaining travel memoir as well.{{sfn|Higham|2001|p=134 ff}}{{sfn|Chandler|1992|p=71 ff}}
<gallery class="center" caption="Bas-reliefs of Angkor" widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="5">
File:Bas-reliefs du Bayon (Angkor) (6912571567).jpg|
File:Bayon Angkor Relief1.jpg|
Angkor Wat bas-reliefs (9727534793).jpg|
File:Bas-reliefs du Bayon (Angkor) (6912582597).jpg|
File:Angkor Wat - 055 Frieze (8581698432).jpg|
</gallery>

=== End of the Angkorian period ===
{{Main|Fall of Angkor}}
The end of the Angkorian period is generally set as 1431, the year Angkor was sacked and looted by [[List of Thai monarchs#1st Suphannaphum dynasty (1370–1388)|Suphannaphum-Mon]] dynasty of [[Ayutthaya Kingdom|Ayutthaya]] invaders, though the civilization already had been in decline in the 13th and 14th centuries.{{sfn|Higham|1989|pp=139–140}}{{sfn|Coedès|1968|pp=236–237}} During the course of the 15th century, nearly all of Angkor was abandoned, except for [[Angkor Wat]], which remained a Buddhist shrine.
Several theories have been advanced to account for the decline and abandonment of Angkor:

==== War with the Ayutthaya Kingdom ====
[[File:Map-of-southeast-asia 900 CE.svg|thumb|right|A map of the Khmer Empire (in red) in 900 AD]]
It is widely believed that the abandonment of the Khmer capital occurred as a result of Ayutthaya invasions. Ongoing civil wars with the [[List of Thai monarchs#1st Uthong dynasty (1351–1370)|Lavo-Khmer]] and [[List of Thai monarchs#1st Suphannaphum dynasty (1370–1388)|Suphannaphum-Mon]] dynasty of Ayutthaya were already sapping the strength of Angkor at the time of [[Zhou Daguan]] toward the end of the 13th century. In his memoirs, Zhou reported that the country had been completely devastated by such a war, in which the entire population had been obligated to participate.{{sfn|Coedès|1943|p=32}}

After the collapse of Angkor in 1431, many statues were taken to the Ayutthaya capital of [[Ayutthaya (city)|Ayutthaya]] in the west.{{sfn|Higham|2001|pp=139-140}} Others departed for the new center of Khmer society at [[Longvek]], southeast of Angkor in [[Kampong Tralach district]]. The official capital later moved, first in 1618 to [[Oudong]] around {{convert|45|km}} from [[Phnom Penh]] in [[Ponhea Leu District]], and eventually in 1865 to the present site of Phnom Penh.

==== Erosion of the state religion ====
Some scholars have connected the decline of Angkor with the conversion of the [[Khmer Empire]] to [[Theravada Buddhism]] following the reign of [[Jayavarman VII]], arguing that this religious transition eroded the Hindu concept of kingship that underpinned the Angkorian civilization.{{sfn|Chandler|1992|p=78 ff}} According to Angkor scholar [[George Coedès]], Theravada Buddhism's denial of the ultimate reality of the individual served to sap the vitality of the royal personality cult which had provided the inspiration for the grand monuments of Angkor.{{sfn|Coedès|1943|pp=64–65}} The vast expanse of temples required an equally large body of workers to maintain them; at [[Ta Prohm]], a stone carving states that 12,640 people serviced that single temple complex. Not only could the spread of Buddhism have eroded this workforce, but it could have also affected the estimated 300,000 agricultural workers required to feed them all.<ref>Richard Stone, [http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2009/07/angkor/stone-text Divining Angkor] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130529165158/http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2009/07/angkor/stone-text |date=29 May 2013 }}, National Geographic, July 2009.</ref>

==== Neglect of public works ====
According to Coedès, the weakening of Angkor's royal government by ongoing war and the erosion of the cult of the ''devaraja'', undermined the government's ability to carry out important public works, such as the construction and maintenance of the waterways essential for irrigation of the rice fields upon which Angkor's large population depended for its sustenance. As a result, Angkorian civilization suffered from a reduced economic base, and the population was forced to scatter.{{sfn|Coedès|1943|p=30}}

==== Natural disaster ====
[[File:Angkor Chau Say Tevoda 2009.jpg|thumb|right|[[Chau Say Tevoda]]]]
Other scholars attempting to account for the rapid decline and abandonment of Angkor have hypothesized natural disasters such as disease (Bubonic Plague), earthquakes, inundations, or drastic climate changes as the relevant agents of destruction.{{sfn|Coedès|1943|p=30}} A study of tree rings in Vietnam produced a record of early monsoons that passed through this area. From this study, we can tell that during the 14th–15th centuries monsoons were weakened and eventually followed by extreme flooding. Their inability to adapt their flooding infrastructure may have led to its eventual decline.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Buckley, B. M. |author2=Anchukaitis, K. J. |author3=Penny, D. |author4=Fletcher, R. |author5=Cook, E. R. |author6=Sano, M. |author7=Nam, L. C. |author8=Wichienkeeo, A. |author9=Minh, T. T. |author10=Hong, T. M. |name-list-style=amp |year=2010 |title=Climate as a contributing factor in the demise of Angkor, Cambodia |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |volume=107 |issue=15 |pages=6748–52 |doi=10.1073/pnas.0910827107|pmid=20351244 |pmc=2872380 |bibcode=2010PNAS..107.6748B |doi-access=free }}</ref>

Recent research by Australian archaeologists suggests that the decline may have been due to a shortage of water caused by the transition from the [[Medieval Warm Period]] to the [[Little Ice Age]].<ref>{{cite news |publisher=Australian Associated Press |title=Climate change killed ancient city |via=News AU |date=14 March 2007 |url=http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,21380223-1702,00.html |access-date=12 November 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080116142532/http://www.news.com.au/story/0%2C23599%2C21380223-1702%2C00.html |archive-date= 16 January 2008}}</ref> [[Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory|LDEO]] [[Dendrochronology|dendrochronological research]] has established tree-ring chronologies indicating severe periods of [[drought]] across [[mainland Southeast Asia]] in the early 15th century, raising the possibility that Angkor's canals and reservoirs ran dry and ended expansion of available farmland.<ref>{{cite news |last=Nelson |first=Andy |title=The secret life of ancient trees |newspaper=Christian Science Monitor |date=10 November 2009 |url=http://features.csmonitor.com/environment/2009/11/10/the-secret-life-of-ancient-trees/ |access-date=12 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091112102431/http://features.csmonitor.com/environment/2009/11/10/the-secret-life-of-ancient-trees/ |archive-date=12 November 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== Restoration, preservation, and threats ===
[[File:Banteay Srei 33.jpg|thumb|right|[[Banteay Srei]]]]
A 16th century [[Portugal|Portuguese]] [[Capuchin friar|friar]], [[António da Madalena]], was the first recorded European visitor to visit Angkor Wat in 1586. By the 17th century, Angkor Wat was not completely abandoned. Fourteen inscriptions from the 17th century testify to [[Japanese people|Japanese]] settlements alongside those of the remaining Khmer.<ref name="Nikkei">{{cite web |title=Japanese Diaspora – Cambodia |author=Masako Fukawa, Stan Fukawa |date=6 Nov 2014 |website=Discover Nikkei |url=http://www.discovernikkei.org/en/journal/2014/11/6/japanese-diaspora-cambodia/ |access-date=18 October 2015 |archive-date=15 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200515040929/http://www.discovernikkei.org/en/journal/2014/11/6/japanese-diaspora-cambodia/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The best-known inscription tells of [[Ukondafu Kazufusa]], who celebrated the [[Khmer New Year]] there in 1632.<ref>{{cite web |title=History of Cambodia, Post-Angkor Era (1431 – present day) |work=Cambodia Travel |url=http://www.cambodia-travel.com/khmer/post-angkor.htm |access-date=18 October 2015 |archive-date=11 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190911082903/http://www.cambodia-travel.com/khmer/post-angkor.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>
[[File:Cambodia Classical Dance 1918-1921.jpg|thumb|[[Apsara Dance|Apsara dancers]] by Angkor Wat in the early 20th century.]]
While Angkor was known to the local Khmer and was shown to European visitors; [[Henri Mouhot]] in 1860 and [[Anna Leonowens]] in 1865,<ref>Leonowens, Anna, An Englishwoman in the Siamese Court, 1870.</ref> it remained cloaked by the forest until the end of the 19th century. European archeologists such as [[Louis Delaporte]] and ethnologists such as [[Adolf Bastian]] visited the site and popularized the site in Europe. This eventually led to a long restoration process by French archaeologists.

From 1907 to 1970, work was under the direction of the [[École française d'Extrême-Orient]], which cleared away the forest, repaired foundations, and installed drains to protect the buildings from water damage. In addition, scholars associated with the school including [[George Coedès]], [[Maurice Glaize]], [[Paul Mus]], [[Philippe Stern]] and others initiated a program of historical scholarship and interpretation that is fundamental to the current understanding of Angkor.

[[File:Preah Khan temple ruins (2009).jpg|thumb|right|[[Preah Khan]]]]
[[File:Ta Keo (6201959611).jpg|thumb|right|[[Ta Keo]]]]
[[File:Ta Phrom, Angkor, Camboya, 2013-08-16, DD 01.JPG|thumb|right|[[Ta Phrom]]]]
Work resumed after the end of the [[Cambodian Civil War]] and, since 1993, has been jointly co-ordinated by India, Germany, Japan and UNESCO through the International Co-ordinating Committee on the Safeguarding and Development of the Historic Site of Angkor (ICC), while Cambodian work is carried out by the Authority for the Protection and Management of Angkor and the Region of Siem Reap ([[APSARA]]), created in 1995. Some temples have been carefully taken apart stone by stone and reassembled on concrete foundations, in accordance with the method of [[anastylosis]].<ref name="BBC Ref" />

The [[World Monuments Fund]] has aided [[Preah Khan]], the Churning of the Sea of Milk (a 49-meter-long bas-relief frieze in Angkor Wat), [[Ta Som]], and [[Phnom Bakheng]]. International tourism to Angkor has increased significantly in recent years, with visitor numbers reaching around 2 million a year by 2014.<ref name="BBC Ref">{{cite web |last=Lawrie |first=Ben |title=Beyond Angkor: How lasers revealed a lost city |publisher=BBC |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-29245289 |access-date=2014-09-23 |work=BBC News |date=2014-09-23 |archive-date=12 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180412193452/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-29245289 |url-status=live }}</ref> This poses additional conservation problems but has also provided financial assistance to the restoration effort.<ref>"Tourist invasion threatens to ruin glories of Angkor," ''The Observer.''</ref>

==== Water-table dropping ====
With the increased growth in tourism at Angkor, new hotels and restaurants are being built to accommodate such growth. Each new construction project drills underground to reach the [[water table]], which has a limited storage capacity. This demand on the water table could undermine the stability of the sandy soils under the monuments at Angkor, leading to cracks, fissures and collapses.<ref>{{cite news |last=Sharp |first=Rob |date=14 March 2008 |title=Heritage Site in Peril: Angkor Wat is Falling Down |work=[[The Independent]] |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/heritage-site-in-peril-angkor-wat-is-falling-down-795747.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220507/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/heritage-site-in-peril-angkor-wat-is-falling-down-795747.html |archive-date=2022-05-07 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Making matters worse, the peak tourist season corresponds with Cambodia's dry season, which leads to excessive pumping of ground water when it is least replenished naturally.<ref name="Doherty" />

==== Looting ====
[[Looting]] was once a threat to the Angkor archaeological landscape. According to APSARA, the official [[Cambodia]]n agency charged with overseeing the management of Angkor, commenting in 2005, "vandalism has multiplied at a phenomenal rate, employing local populations to carry out the actual thefts, heavily armed intermediaries transport objects, often in tanks or armored personnel carriers, often for sale across the Cambodian border.".<ref>{{cite news |last=Perlez |first=Jane |date=March 21, 2005 |title=Siem Reap Journal; A Cruel Race to Loot the Splendor That Was Angkor |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E06E3DA1E3CF932A15750C0A9639C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=1 |access-date=14 February 2017 |archive-date=4 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304114648/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E06E3DA1E3CF932A15750C0A9639C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=1 |url-status=live }}</ref> Theft of archaeological objects has been greatly reduced in Cambodia since those comments were made.<ref>{{cite news |date=2 February 2024 |title=Cambodian government takes over management of three Angkor archaeological sites from World Monuments Fund |url=https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2024/02/01/cambodian-government-angkor-sites-world-monuments-fund}}</ref>

==== Unsustainable tourism ====
{{Original research section|date=January 2013}}
The increasing number of tourists, around two million per year,<ref name="Doherty">{{cite news |first=Ben |last=Doherty |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/sep/27/water-raiding-threatens-angkor-wat |title=Private water raiding threatens Angkor's temples built on sand |newspaper=The Guardian |date=2010-09-27 |access-date=17 December 2016 |archive-date=28 September 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160928010842/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/sep/27/water-raiding-threatens-angkor-wat |url-status=live }}</ref> exerts pressure on the archaeological sites at Angkor by walking and climbing on the (mostly) sandstone monuments at Angkor. This direct pressure created by unchecked tourism is expected to cause significant damage to the monuments in the future.<ref>{{cite news |last=Watson |first=Paul |date=2008-07-19 |title=Too Much Adoration at Cambodia's Angkor Temples |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |url=http://travel.latimes.com/articles/la-trw-angkor20-2008jul20?page=1 |access-date=23 September 2009 |archive-date=31 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231031083146/https://www.latimes.com/travel |url-status=live }}</ref>

In sites such as Angkor, tourism is inevitable. Therefore, the site management team cannot exclusively manage the site. The team has to manage the flow of people. Millions of people visit Angkor each year, making the management of this flow vital to the quickly decaying structures. Western tourism to Angkor began in the 1970s.{{sfn|Wager|1995}} The sandstone monuments and Angkor are not made for this type of heightened tourism.

Moving forward, UNESCO and local authorities at the site are in the process of creating a sustainable plan for the future of the site. Since 1992, UNESCO has moved towards conserving Angkor. Thousands of new archaeological sites have been discovered by UNESCO, and the organization has moved towards protected cultural zones. Two decades later, over 1000 people are employed full-time at the site for cultural sensitivity reasons. Part of this movement to limit the impacts of tourism has been to only open certain areas of the site.

However, much of the 1992 precautionary measures and calls for future enforcement have fallen through. Both globally and locally the policy-making has been successful, but the implementation has failed for several reasons. First, there are conflicts of interest in Cambodia. While the site is culturally important to them, Cambodia is a poor country.

Tourism is a vital part to the Cambodian economy, and shutting down parts of Angkor, the largest tourist destination in the country, is not an option. A second reason stems from the government's inability to organize around the site. The Cambodian government has failed in organizing a robust team of cultural specialists and archaeologists to service the site.

==== COVID-19 ====
During the [[COVID-19 pandemic]], the lack of visitors resulted in 10,000 people working in the Cambodian tourist trade being out of work.<ref>{{Citation |publisher=VoA |title=Cambodians revel now tourist free Angkor wat |date=14 June 2020 |url=https://www.voanews.com/a/south-central-asia_cambodians-revel-now-tourist-free-angkor-wat/6191082.html |access-date=30 September 2020 |archive-date=3 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200903120608/https://www.voanews.com/south-central-asia/cambodians-revel-now-tourist-free-angkor-wat |url-status=live }}.</ref>