Hey guys, today we are going to solve the puzzle of Angkor Wat's Stone Work.
In a previous video, I had estimated that Angkor Wat would have needed at least 10 Million
tons of sandstone blocks to build the temple.
As you can see, Angkor Wat is entirely made of sandstone, and it is so big that it would
have needed at least that many rocks.
But there is a fundamental problem with this, if you look at the quarry sites of Angkor
Wat, we can be sure that 10,000,000 tons of rocks were not removed from here.
And experts confirm there are no other sandstone quarries nearby from which the rocks have
been taken.
So where did ancient builders magically get these sandstone blocks from?
If you watch till the end of the video, you will know.
"So that is where the tourists are, that is where the main temple is.
This is almost the edge of the temple but this is where all information is.
See this is sandstone, this is this rock basically.
You can see the blocks that were used to make this temple.
I don't think these were leftovers.
These are parts taken out and put here.
So you can see these blocks of sandstone - this is what the entire temple is made of.
These are the sandstone blocks that made the temple and you can see a bunch of them here
and there is a pile of blocks which goes all the way and this is all sandstone.
These are sandstone blocks, parts of pillars, I can tell right away, some make up the other
structures.
But you see those rocks there, that is where it gets really interesting.
Can you see the difference between that rock and this rock?
This rock is sandstone but that is not sandstone.
I think that is volcanic basalt, that's - Cambodians call this Lava Rock, you see how porous it
is.
Let us go take a look and see how this was used.
See how these rocks are, right?
You can tell right away that you cannot put these rocks as front pieces of a temple right?
Because you see how porous they are and how rough they are.
If they are carved, this is not going to look good.
But why do you see these huge rectangular blocks right?
You can see how many blocks here right?
This entire area is full of these "Lava Rocks".
But these rocks were also used in the construction of the temple.
Nobody understands this, people think it is made of sandstone but these rocks were key
to the construction of the Angkor Wat temple.
So let's go take a look and see where these were used.
" We are on the other edge of the temple, you
can see tourists and tour guides walking into the temple, but remember, the information
is always in places where people do not look.
So I start exploring the woods nearby, normal people do not venture into this area.
And you can see something very exciting, the Angkor Wat temple is not only protected by
a moat, but it has a giant compound wall, not only now, even a thousand years ago, most
people would not visit this area, but this giant temple is protected by a 16 foot wall
on all 4 sides.
But the most important feature is the material used here.
"So this where the lava rocks were used.
There is no need for dressing this up, there is no need for this compound wall to look
beautiful, it was created for protective purposes, and this is why we have blocks and blocks
of lava rocks.
You can tell - it is not beautiful, but it will absolutely serve the purpose.
And we are able to find this only if we go deep, where there is nobody.
" This material is called basaltic laterite,
and it is created as a result of volcanic eruption.
I examine this wall which stretches for miles, and when I start returning back to the main
premises, something hits me, this wall made of laterite does not solve the mystery of
Angkor Wat's volume of rocks.
This wall probably accounts for 1 percent of Angkor Wat's stone blocks.
So, just because I found out that this 1% is made of laterite, it does not explain where
99% of the rocks, the sandstone blocks came from.
Ok, now let's go into the main temple complex, and everywhere you see, is made of solid sandstone
blocks.
The blocks are smooth and are full of carvings.
They would have needed an entire mountain of sandstone, to cut these blocks and make
up this structure which is more than 200 feet tall.
And then I observe something crazy.
Do you see what's going on here?
"So here you can see we are on the main complex of Angkor Wat and these are all sandstone
blocks as you can see and look inside - the volcanic basalt rocks are inside.
So the sandstone blocks are only used as a dressing because they are easy to carve and
they look great but look what is actually inside.
That is the volcanic basalt but "Lava Rock" as it is known in Cambodia and this is how
such a massive temple was built.
It was built mostly using the volcanic rock, and the sandstone, the structure or stuff
you see everywhere is just a dressing."
Let's look at the top of this structure, yes it has undergone many centuries of destruction,
but you can still see the smooth surface, and you can see beautiful carvings on it,
and appreciate its beauty.
But, as you look below, suddenly, you are having a change of heart.
Suddenly you don't think this is a beautiful structure, you feel like it is not so good
looking.
Why?
Because earlier you were looking at a super model, but now the skin is peeled off, and
you are looking at the flesh and blood of the supermodel.
That is exactly what you are looking at, right now.
The skin, was the Sandstone, but the flesh and blood, is not sandstone, a majority of
this temple is NOT made of that smooth sandstone, but this rough, orange colored, not so good
looking material called Laterite.
Now we understand why the quarry sites do not show 10 million tons of sandstone blocks
removed from there.
Because, the ancient builders did not use sandstone 100%, the sandstone was only the
skin of Angkor Wat, imagine a human body and what percent of the human body would the skin
be, okay?
So sandstone is not the major ingredient, but now the question is, what about the laterite
quarry?
From which mountain did they quarry these laterite blocks, where did that come from?
If you look at the laterite quarries, they are usually found on the ground level itself,
and my guess is that the ancient builders would have found laterite very close to the
temple site itself.
This would have not only eliminated the problem of long distance transportation, but also
explains why the sandstone quarry sites do not show a massive removal of rocks.
But I have done something spectacular today, I have now peeked into the mind of ancient
builders.
Ancient builders wanted us to think the entire temple is made of beautiful sandstone blocks,
you have already seen 6 videos about Angkor Wat on my channel, and you would have also
believed that.
Ancient builders wanted to fool us, they only used sandstone blocks as an outer covering,
the sandstone is smooth, you can carve on it, and it will look good.
But Sandstone is not available locally, it is found 30 miles away from Angkor Wat, so,
they filled up the insides with laterite which was available locally.
It is rough, it looks ugly, it cannot be carved, but it is basically used like filling material
like modern day packing peanuts, and then completely dressed with sandstone on the outside.
And ancient builders must have thought that visitors will never venture into the woods
and observe these remote walls, this is why they put laterite rocks here.
Had they known, that some crazy guy would come and explore this area many centuries
later, they would have dressed this wall with beautiful sandstone blocks, and then made
carvings on every inch of this wall also.
So is the temple made of just Sandstone and Laterite?
No, there is yet another secret ingredient inside.
If you open up the temple, outside you will see sandstone blocks, inside you will see
laterite blocks, but if you open that, you will see something pouring out.
What is that?
Sand.
Yes, Sand.
In a previous video, I showed you how the moat was constructed around the temple with
a perimeter of nearly Three and a Half miles and a depth of 12 to 25 feet.
Where did such a huge volume of sand, removed from this place go?
It was conveniently dumped in the center, where the temple is.
So ancient builders were doing something ingenious, on one hand they were creating a moat, on
the other hand, they got all the dirt they needed to build the Angkor Wat.
A massive flat top pyramid exists inside, completely made of sand.
First, the core structure was made of sand and it would have been interleaved with laterite
blocks for stability.
Remember I told you that laterite was like flesh and blood.
The sand was the skeleton.
After that, the laterite blocks were added, and the sandstone blocks were added finally
as the outer skin, and the carvings are the makeup, which ultimately makes Angkor Wat
look so beautiful.
One thing is clear, this temple was not built by primitive, unsophisticated people, this
kind of complex engineering needs extraordinary intelligence, they knew exactly what materials
to use, where to use them, how to put them together, how to package it, and deliver it
as a master piece.
"I hope you guys liked this video, I am Praveen Mohan thanks a lot for watching don't forget
to subscribe and I will talk to you soon in a completely different video, bye!