Episode Details
Back to Episodes
Angkor's iron trade: The lost weapon forges that fueled an empire
Description
Long before Angkor fell, its iron forges were working at industrial scale. In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the extraordinary iron-smelting sites of the Phnom Dek range, where Khmer smiths produced tens of thousands of tonnes of iron to arm armies and build temples. They trace how the 13th-century shift to steel-tipped arrows and crossbows strained the supply chain, how the Siamese capture of the Phnom Dek mines in 1431 may have been the final blow, and how recent laser-scanning surveys revealed a sprawling network of furnaces and slag heaps that rewrites our understanding of Angkor's industrial might. Along the way, they touch on the mysterious 'iron road' to Angkor Thom, the role of the devaraja in controlling metal production, and why the empire's technological edge became its Achilles' heel.