INDUSTRIES OF ANGKOR PROJECT: PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION OF IRON PRODUCTION AT BOENG KROAM, PREAH KHAN OF KOMPONG SVAY
<p>The Industries of Angkor Project (INDAP) is the first intensive investigation into the history and role of iron production at Preah Khan of Kompong Svay (Preah Khan), the largest regional enclosure complex built by the Angkorian Khmer (9<sup>th</sup> to 15<sup>th</sup> c. CE) in Cambodia. We present the initial multidisciplinary research of the primary iron smelting sites located on Boeng Kroam, a large reservoir located north of Preah Khan’s central temple complex. Ground-penetrating radar surveys and excavation at Location 1, a slag concentration on top of the reservoir bank, revealed that it is a deposit of metallurgical waste from a nearby furnace. Multiple radiocarbon dates from Location 1 indicate that the smelting activities took place in the early 15<sup>th</sup> century during the time of Angkor’s ultimate collapse as the political centre of the Khmer world. This indicates a re-use of spaces by iron workers after the primary occupation of Preah Khan between the 11<sup>th</sup> and 13<sup>th</sup> centuries.</p>