Cambodian Lost City: Airborne Laser Scanning Uncovers Lost City of Mahendraparvata

By Jon Campbell, Christian Post Contributor Tuesday, June 18, 2013

A Cambodian lost city has been uncovered via technology known as airborne laser scanning, according to reports.

The lost city is only known about from inscriptions that are believed to existed about 1,200 years ago near what is now Cambodia, according to Live Science.

The lost city is called Mahendraparvata, and is reportedly hidden beneath a dense forest on a mountain called Phnom Kulen, which means "Mountain of the Lychees."

Scientists had conducted a number of archaeological mapping projects, which used remote sensing to map subtle changes in the landscape of Angkor. However, the thick vegetation prohibited them from seeing and identifying the lost city complex.

However, now in a new study led by a team from the Archaeology and Development Foundation's (ADF) Phnom Kulen program, a new type of airborne laser scanning or LiDAR (light detection and ranging) was used.

The new technique was used over about 140 square miles of the region in 2012 and has helped unveil the hidden city.

Researchers have written, "LiDAR provides an unparalleled ability to penetrate dense vegetation cover and map archaeological remains on the forest floor," according to Live Science.

The findings have shown traces of various urban spaces hidden beneath the vegetation.

"It's the same sort of configuration as Los Angeles — so, a dense middle, but it consists of huge, sprawling suburbs connected by giant roads and canals in exactly the same way as the freeways link up Los Angeles," said Roland Fletcher, of the University of Sydney.

For further information from the original report from Live Science please click here.