New evidence of brown glaze stoneware kilns along the East Road from Angkor

Abstract

Brown-glazed ceramics are commonly found at Ang-korian period sites yet our knowledge of production and distribution of these wares has been limited to kilns in Thailand and along the Angkorian roads west of the capital. Recent survey along the road connecting Beng Melea with Preah Khan of Kompong Svay has identified the first evidence of brown glazed ceramic kilns east of Angkor. Nearby Angkorian temples suggest that the kilns were in operation at least by the beginning of the 12th century. This confirms that brown glazed ceramics were made locally and not imported from northeast Thailand or western Cambodia. The proximity to the Angkorian road also suggests that ceramics from these kilns were redistributed along this route to provide local communi-ties and, potentially, the capital. The implication of these new discoveries is that the Angkorian transport system served as an important mechanism for industrial and commercial activity and not just connections between major temple centres. ANGKORIAN CERAMICS AND CAMBODIAN KILNS The production and re-distribution of glazed stoneware ceramics during the Angkorian period (9th-15th centuries) is poorly understood. Aymonier (1901:414) identified the first glazed ceramic kilns on the Phnom Kulen at the site of Anlong Thom, and by 1970 B-P. Groslier (1981:17) had only noted the presence of production sites near Sambor Prei Kuk and Preah Khan of Kompong Svay. Since 1995, interest in ceramics has dramatically in-creased, and combined with looting, development and demining activities several more kilns have now been

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