103 It appears as though people of that time who settled in northwestern Cambodia, dug large and small artificial ponds in front of and in the vicinity of their dwellings. They did this for their living, while taking advantage of the terrain and climate cycle. As the inscriptions state, when a temple was built, they began excavating the moat. In the first rainy season water was stored in the moat for domestic use and as drinking water for livestock, and using this they lived and worked. It is known that the economic footing of the Angkor dynasty was agriculture, which was developed by the judiciously designed irrigation network. Thanks to the waterway network stretching from corner to corner, the irrigation system utilized the artificial reservoir called “Baray,” and concurrently employed the Takoshi irrigation farming method using slopes. According to the inscriptions, the “village landowners (Gramavadbit)” of that time were involved in the digging of the Barays as well as the management and maintenance of the irrigation network. The experience of the village landowners with regard to daily water management was vital. It is believed that they saw to its upkeep by deciding the adjustment of floodgates through increasing or decreasing the water quantity, and mobilized villagers in promptly removing mud at the bottom of the waterways. In the Angkor area, the research team’s geological survey (Professor Emeritus Moriai Yoshio, Tohoku Institute of Technology) also authenticated the fact that 2 to 3 meters below ground there lies a clay layer that does not allow the passage of water, and it has superb water retentivity. In constructing the Baray they never excavated. They used a very simple measure whereby a U shaped enclosure was created for the embankment, and in rainy seasons this streamed in rainwater, and water from rivers. Takoshi Irrigation Farming Method Utilizing the Alluvial Fan
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