Virtual Angkor

Exploring the historical recreation of an ancient metropolis.

Angkor is one of the most important archaeological sites in South-East Asia. Stretching over some 400 km2, the Angkor Archaeological Park in Cambodia contains the magnificent remains of successive capitals of the Khmer Empire, from the 9th to the 15th century.

Virtual Angkor is an online simulation and series of educational modules created to take students into a 3D visualisation of Angkor and to use this simulation to ask questions about Angkor’s place in larger networks of trade and diplomacy, its experience with climate variability and the structure of power and kingship that underpinned the city. The award-winning site is a collaboration between Virtual History Specialists, Archaeologists and Historians.

Built on the Visualising Angkor projects created by SensiLab, the project began life as a comprehensive virtual reconstruction of Angkor Wat and its surrounds, complete with hundreds of digital inhabitants. The goal was to use a range of archaeological and textual sources to recreate one complete 24 hour cycle in the life of thirteenth century Angkor Wat. The Virtual Angkor teaching modules utilise slices from this broader program in the form of panoramic 360 degree videos accessible from any computer as well as immersive Virtual Reality experiences that can be used with commercially-available VR headsets such as Google Daydream.

Visit the project at virtualangkor.com

Development Team – Tom Chandler, Bernard Keo, Mike Yeates, Brent McKee & Chandara Ung, 

Collaborations – Adam Clulow, University of Texas at Austin; Bernard Keo, Monash School of Philosophical, Historical and International Studies; Martin Polkinghorne, Flinders University

Links & Publications

Winner of the American Historical Associations’ 2018 Roy Rosenzweig Prize for Innovation in Digital History

Chandler, T., & Clulow, A. (2020). Modeling Virtual Angkor: An Evolutionary Approach to a Single Urban Space. IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications40(3), 9-16.

The Power of Transformation, Gary Singh