Ancient Staircase Examined in Cambodia

SIEM REAP, CAMBODIA—According to a report in The Cambodia Daily, researchers led by Im Sokrithy of the Apsara Authority’s Angkor International Center of Research and Documentation and Jean-Baptiste Chevance of the Archaeology & Development Foundation are investigating the nearly 2,000-foot-long stone staircase known as Pleu Cere that climbs the sacred mountain Phnom Kulen. The 50-foot-wide staircase is interspersed with four flat rest areas that offer access to spring water. The archaeologists explained that the lack of carvings and artifacts along the staircase make it difficult to estimate its age, but it is thought to have been constructed sometime between the ninth and thirteenth centuries to reach the ancient city of Mahendraparvata, which has been recently mapped with Lidar technology. Little has been done until now to study the ancient route because it had been mined by Khmer Rouge forces. For more on archaeology in Cambodia, go to “Angkor Urban Sprawl.”