Suryavarman II begins construction of Angkor Wat

1110

On the Cambodian plain, quarrymen started floating sandstone blocks from Mount Kulen down specially-dug canals to a site bigger than any medieval city in Europe. The temple's five towers would eventually mimic the peaks of Mount Meru, home of the gods. An estimated three hundred thousand laborers and six thousand elephants worked on the project, carving nearly two thousand apsara dancers into the gallery walls.