How Angkor Wat was built: stone, labour and engineering
How did the Khmer build Angkor Wat without modern machinery? A look at the sandstone quarries, canals, foundations and the workforce behind the world's largest religious monument.
In this guide
Angkor Wat is often described as the largest religious monument in the world. It was built in the 12th century without iron machinery, cranes or mortar. How was it done? Archaeologists have pieced together much of the answer, though some questions remain open.
The materials
- Sandstone for the visible surfaces, carvings and towers. It came from quarries in the Phnom Kulen area, tens of kilometres from the temple.
- Laterite, a reddish, porous rock that hardens in air, for foundations, inner structures and enclosure walls.
- Wood for roofs in some galleries and for scaffolding, long since rotted away.
Moving the stone
Studies of the quarries and the landscape suggest that blocks were moved along a network of canals, probably on rafts, before being dragged the final distance. Many blocks have small holes drilled into them, which may have held pegs used to lift or position them with ropes.
Foundations on sand
The temple stands on ground that becomes waterlogged in the wet season. Builders created a thick platform of compacted sand and laterite, and the surrounding moat may have helped keep groundwater levels stable, protecting the foundations from drying and shifting.
Fitting without mortar
The sandstone blocks were cut to fit tightly against each other, held in place by their own weight and shape. Some blocks are linked with metal clamps set into carved slots; many of these were later prised out for their metal, which is why you'll see empty holes in some walls.
Carving in place
Most of the decoration, from the bas-reliefs to the devatas (female divinities) on the walls, was carved after the blocks were set. Some areas were left unfinished, offering a glimpse of different stages of work.
The workforce
Inscriptions and later studies suggest the temple required tens of thousands of people: quarry workers, boatmen, labourers, sculptors, engineers and priests, supported by a large agricultural economy. Estimates of how long it took vary, but the main structure was probably built over several decades, with some work continuing after Suryavarman II's death.
Questions that remain
- Exactly how the heaviest blocks were raised to the upper levels.
- How the work was organised and how workers were recruited.
- How long each stage took.
Seeing the engineering for yourself
As you walk through the temple, look for the drilled holes in blocks, the empty clamp slots, unfinished carvings and the precise joints between stones. The staircases to the upper level, now fitted with wooden steps, show how steep the original climbs were.