Ancient Khmer Quarrying of Arkose Sandstone for Monumental Architecture and Sculpture

The medieval period of Khmer history witnessed stone extraction and construction on a monumental scale throughout Cambodia and the neighbouring boarders of Thailand and Laos. This paper attempts to delve further into the methods and techniques of the ancient Khmer stonemasons, and the quarrying procedures undertaken at various remote locations where the occurrence of sandstone benefited construction endeavours. This paper reveals the exploitation of arkose sandstone in two categories: 1) sandstone that was extracted from sound bedrock, either from rock plateaus, valleys, riverbeds, and mountain ranges; 2) sandstone construction material that was acquired from eroded escarpments in the form of slabs and idle boulders, including stone material utilized from rock fall debris. Archaeological evidence drawn from quarry markings provides an insight to explore different periods of stereotomy, and the possible migration of knowledge and skills by stonemasons.