by Lara Dunston

Its 7 a.m. at 2）Angkor Wat and theres not a tourist in sight. Its blissfully quiet， the first clear June morning after two days of 3）torrential rains. The only souls around are a small group of Buddhist pilgrims， lighting 4）incense at the rear of the spectacular 5）Khmer temple. The 6）bleary-eyed early-risers， who woke in darkness to board tour buses to Angkor 7）archaeological park for sunrise 8）photo ops， have already 9）trundled back to their breakfast buffets. Im not here for sightseeing， however， Im heading further into the forest surrounding the 10）stupendous temple complex with Australian archaeologist Dr Damian Evans to meet the archaeologists from Cambodia， the Philippines and the USA， who are working on new 11）excavations.

The release by the 12）US National Academy of Sciences of a report on the results of a high-tech survey of Khmer Empire sites， undertaken in April 2012， has rocked the archaeological world and captured travelers imaginations. Evans was one of the report authors and the lead archaeologist and director of the project， which only became known outside local and archaeological circles with the release of the report.

As we make our way through dense vegetation， he explains how eight key archaeological groups collaborated on the project. It began with a survey using an airborne laser scanning instrument called Lidar， strapped to a helicopter， to search for ruins and other structures. “For archaeologists， these lumps and bumps that we see in the forest， each has a meaning，” Evans explains， pointing out gentle 13）mounds. “These are all the traces of the civilisation of the city associated with Angkor Wat， made of wood and 14）thatch， that has disappeared. Its these 15）contours that remain inscribed into the forest landscape we study.”

“Were really interested in understanding residence patterns， where and how people lived and who they were，” Evans explains excitedly， showing me X-ray-like images of the area were in.

Scholars have long based their ideas of all medieval cities around the world on European cities， explains Professor Roland Fletcher， director of the Greater Angkor Project. But now， it seems there was a 16）colossal low-density 17）urban sprawl here. “This is a highly managed system， the most extensive pre-industrial city in the world，” he says， though referring to its complexity rather than its size. “The Lidar results show there were three cities [here] at the end of the 9th century—the largest was on top of Mount Kulen， creating an [equivalent to] industrial 19thcentury Britain.”

We decide to head to one of the local Phnom Kulen， a site rarely visited by tourists， with just a few companies offering expeditions and 18）treks there. “Phnom Kulen is a sacred mountain， a holy place for Cambodians，” Tat， our guide from Backyard Travel tells us en route. While it may not be the dramatic mist-shrouded peak I imagined， the 492m-high， 8km-wide and 32km-long mountain is visible for the whole 90-minute drive north from Siem Reap to the foothills of Mount Kulen national park. We leave our air-conditioned four-wheel drive behind and soon were bouncing along muddy tracks on the back of motorbikes behind guides familiar with the landmine-riddled mountainside， once the last stronghold of the Khmer Rouge.

Its a slow journey， over narrow， bumpy dirt trails—only the most 19）intrepid travelers come here. We cross log bridges and ride straight through flowing streams. Scattered across the mountain are ruined， foliage-covered temples， ancient highway markers and， at Sras Damrei or Elephant Pond， massive statues of an elephant and lions. The thought that more sites like this could soon be discovered is thrilling.

Back in Siem Reap we take to the air in a helicopter to get a better idea of what this urban landscape might have looked like. Had I taken the flight two weeks ago， I would have gasped at the magnificence of the isolated temple structures with their imposing walls and 20）moats surrounded by forests. Now， I see patterns of bumps and lines on the vast floodplain as beautiful 21）remnants of an immense， 22）effervescent city that technology and archaeology are finally bringing to life.

While many believe this site will become one of Asias greatest wonders， and tourism bodies are eager to see excavations progress quickly and more archaeological sites opened up to visitors， the extraordinary size of the area means work will be costly and take years. In the meantime， however， the intrepid can play at being Indiana Jones at undeveloped sites on Phnom Kulen， and temple cities such as Beng Mealea and Koh Ker—and let their imaginations run wild.

清早七點(diǎn)鐘的吳哥窟，眼前一位游客都沒有。兩天的傾盆大雨過后，六月里第一個(gè)晴朗的清晨，一片令人欣喜的寧靜。周遭唯有前來朝拜的三兩佛教徒，在壯觀的高棉寺廟后頭點(diǎn)起了香。那些因?yàn)樵缙鸲坌殊斓娜藗冊(cè)诤诎抵行褋?，登上旅游巴士趕到吳哥古跡公園拍攝完日出后，已經(jīng)步履蹣跚地返回去享用他們的自助早餐。我并非到此觀光，而是與澳大利亞考古學(xué)家達(dá)米安·埃文斯博士一起深入環(huán)繞著這宏偉廟宇群的森林，同來自柬埔寨、菲律賓和美國一批致力于新發(fā)掘工作的考古學(xué)家們會(huì)面。

美國國家科學(xué)院發(fā)布了一份報(bào)告，公布了自2012年4月以來通過高科技對(duì)高棉帝國遺址進(jìn)行勘測(cè)的研究成果，不僅轟動(dòng)了整個(gè)考古界，還激起了旅行者們的遐想。埃文斯是報(bào)告的執(zhí)筆人之一，也是項(xiàng)目的首席考古學(xué)家和負(fù)責(zé)人。隨著報(bào)告的發(fā)布，這一項(xiàng)目才被除當(dāng)?shù)厝撕涂脊沤缛?nèi)人以外的人們所了解。

當(dāng)我們穿過茂密的植被前行時(shí)，他解釋著這個(gè)項(xiàng)目的八支主力考古隊(duì)是如何分工合作的。最初是利用一部綁在直升機(jī)上的名為“利達(dá)爾”的機(jī)載激光掃描儀進(jìn)行勘測(cè)，搜尋遺址和其他建筑物?！皩?duì)于考古學(xué)家們來說，我們?cè)谶@片森林里看到的這些土壟塊突都有著不同的意義。”埃文斯指著一處處平緩起伏的土丘解釋說?！斑@些全都是這座與吳哥窟相關(guān)的城市留下的文明印記，由木頭和茅草搭建而成的建筑物如今早已消失，而遺跡的輪廓?jiǎng)t刻畫留存在我們所研究的這片森林的地形里?！?/p>

“我們實(shí)在好奇當(dāng)時(shí)的居住模式，人們生活的地點(diǎn)、方式，以及他們的身份，” 埃文斯一邊向我展示著我們所在區(qū)域的像X光片一樣的圖像，一邊興奮地解釋說。

大吳哥研究計(jì)劃的負(fù)責(zé)人羅蘭·弗萊徹教授解釋說，長久以來，學(xué)者們都以歐洲城市作為研究世界各地中世紀(jì)城市的理論基礎(chǔ)。但如今看來，似乎有一個(gè)巨大的低密度城市曾在這里擴(kuò)展。“這是一個(gè)高度管理的系統(tǒng)，前工業(yè)化時(shí)期世界上最廣闊的城市，”他說，盡管指的是它的復(fù)雜性而非其面積?！袄_(dá)爾的勘測(cè)結(jié)果顯示，在公元九世紀(jì)末期，（這里）曾有三座城市——最大的那座位于荔枝山頂，締造了一個(gè)（相當(dāng)于）19世紀(jì)工業(yè)化的英國?！?/p>

我們決定前往荔枝山的一頭，這片遺址極少有游客觀光，只有少數(shù)幾個(gè)提供考察和旅行的公司駐扎在那里?！袄笾ι绞亲ド?，對(duì)于柬埔寨人來說，是個(gè)圣地，”我們來自于“后院旅行社”的導(dǎo)游塔特在路上告訴我們。盡管它或許不是我想象中那種引人入勝的云霧繚繞的山峰，但這座高492米，寬8公里，長32公里的山巒在從暹粒以北到荔枝山國家公園山麓沿途整個(gè)90公里的車程中都清晰可見。我們走出空調(diào)四驅(qū)車，隨即騎上摩托車，跟在對(duì)地雷密布的山坡地區(qū)了如指掌的向?qū)兒竺?，在布滿泥濘的小道上一路顛簸前行。這里曾經(jīng)是紅色高棉組織最后的大本營。

這是一段緩慢的旅程，行進(jìn)在狹窄、崎嶇、臟兮兮的小路上——只有最勇敢無畏的旅行者才會(huì)來這里。我們經(jīng)過了木橋，直接騎過流水。蓋滿落葉的破敗寺廟、古老的道路標(biāo)識(shí)灑落在山間，而在大象池，則可見巨大的大象或獅群雕像。一想到更多像這樣的遺址將被發(fā)掘出來，我們就感到無比振奮。

回到暹粒市，我們乘上直升機(jī)俯瞰，以便更好地了解這座城市曾經(jīng)可能呈現(xiàn)出的風(fēng)光。如果我在兩個(gè)星期之前曾體驗(yàn)過這樣的飛行，被森林環(huán)繞隔絕的寺廟建筑群及其宏偉的山墻和護(hù)城河所營造的壯麗美景一定已經(jīng)讓我驚嘆不已。而如今，我在澇原上看出了舊文明的土壟列跡，那是一座曾經(jīng)廣闊而生機(jī)勃勃的城市留下的美麗殘跡。在科技和考古學(xué)的作用下，這座城市終于得以復(fù)生。

盡管許多人相信，這片遺址將會(huì)變成亞洲最偉大的奇跡之一，旅游業(yè)界也熱切地期盼著發(fā)掘項(xiàng)目能快速進(jìn)行，更多的考古遺址能向游客開放，但這片地區(qū)非同尋常的面積也意味著發(fā)掘工作成本昂貴且時(shí)間漫長。不過同時(shí)，勇士們也能在暹粒荔枝山那些尚未發(fā)掘的遺址及像崩密列和貢開這樣的寺廟城，一嘗印第安納·瓊斯的滋味——任由他們的想象力肆意狂奔。

小資料

亞特蘭蒂斯，又稱大西國，關(guān)于它的傳說始于古希臘的哲學(xué)之祖——柏拉圖。傳說中亞特蘭蒂斯是擁有著高度發(fā)達(dá)史前文明的古老大陸。據(jù)《梵蒂岡城國古抄本》中描述，當(dāng)時(shí)的大西國生活著地球上的第四代人類，即處于“太陽與水”階段的人類，這一階段的人類文明滅亡于大洪災(zāi)。1969年7月，人們?cè)诒北让啄崛簫u發(fā)現(xiàn)了用作裝飾的古希臘樣式的大理石圓柱，但最終卻發(fā)掘無果。至今，無人敢為這個(gè)古國存在的真實(shí)性打包票。

位于中國新疆巴音郭楞蒙古族自治州若羌縣北境、羅布泊以西的樓蘭王國，于公元4世紀(jì)之后，銷聲匿跡。專家猜測(cè)樓蘭的消亡是由于人類違背自然規(guī)律而導(dǎo)致的，樓蘭人盲目濫砍亂伐致使水土流失、風(fēng)沙侵襲、河流改道、氣候反常、瘟疫流行、水分減少、鹽堿日積，最終造成了王國的滅亡。1900年3月，瑞典籍探險(xiǎn)家斯文·赫定在尋找羅布泊的行程中意外發(fā)現(xiàn)了樓蘭古城，自此樓蘭王國神秘的面紗被撩開了一角。