Angkor Wat

Angkor, Cambodia – Angkor Wat is home to the world’s most fascinating archaeological mystery: Why do images of women dominate the largest religious monument on Earth?

In the 12th Century AD, the Khmer Empire ruled most of what is now Southeast Asia. As Europe struggled in the Dark Ages, King Suryavarman II built the massive edifice of Angkor Wat at the height of his empire’s glory.

Cruciform Gallery devata at Angkor Wat

But within 200 years, the powerful Khmer civilization mysteriously collapsed. Theories about the cause of its downfall abound but nothing is definite. You see, aside from limited temple inscriptions no written records of the great Khmer Empire survived its demise. The “best” written account available is from the Chinese diplomat Zhou Daguan, who recorded his journey to Suvannabhum — the legendary Khmer “Land of Gold” — 150 years after Angkor Wat was completed.

Centuries passed. Dense jungle swallowed  the magnificent Khmer temples and cities. Western scholars had never even learned that the great Khmer race ever existed.

But in the 19th Century, French explorers rediscovered the ruins, initiating 150 years of intense scholarship that continues today. Yet we believe that they have missed the most important keys to the puzzle, hidden in plain sight…

People worldwide instantly recognize Angkor Wat.

Few, however, realize that this massive temple protects an extraordinary treasure unlike any building on Earth: Inside its walls we find a royal portrait gallery with 1,796 women realistically rendered in stone.

For 150 years, scholars have dismissed the women as  ”wives to entertain the king in heaven” or ornaments “to decorate bare sandstone walls”.

Our growing body of  research indicates that these women served much more profound roles than mere decoration. And perhaps these women were the driving force behind the civilization itself.