Backpack through South-East Asia and you’d be foolish not to visit Cambodia’s Angkor Wat temples, one of the most important archaeological sites in the region and breathtakingly beautiful at the same time.

The thing is that despite the millions of visitors archaeologists have only really scraped the surface, because it has now been revealed that entire medieval cities lie beneath the tropical forest floor that surrounds Angkor Wat.

Here’s Newser with just how this discovery was made:

Using aerial scanning technology that determines precise elevation points beneath even dense jungle foliage, archaeologists say they have uncovered multiple metropolises between 900 and 1,400 years old that might have made up the largest empire on the planet at the time…

The findings also upend a key chapter in the history of Southeast Asia. Historians have long thought that the city of Angkor was abandoned in the 15th century amid a Siamese attack and occupation, but the research finds no evidence to suggest that a million people uprooted themselves in a mass migration…

Instead, it appears that the population remained and thrived, boasting complex waterway systems that emerged centuries earlier than thought…

The technology, called Lidar, forms a 3D model of any stark changes in ground height. The maps illustrate just how extensively developed the area was around Angkor Wat, a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Maybe it’s time to pack your bags and head off on a little adventure? Be sure to Instagram non-stop and mention how blessed you are, it’s what the ancient civilisation would have wanted.

[source:newser]