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CHAPTER VII

THE PROBLEM OF THE KHMER CIVILISATION

A DESPATCH-BOAT had been sent to Bangkok by the Colonial Government for the purpose of obtaining passports and a supply of Siamese money of which the expedition would stand in need. when it quitted Kambodian territory and began to make its way through districts under the dominion of Siam. Pending the return of this vessel, the main design of the explorers the—ascent of the Mekong to its source—could not be proceeded with, and De Lagrée decided to utilise the time of forced inactivity by paying a visit to the immense ruins of Angkor, the most remarkable of the many relics of a forgotten civilisation which are to be found scattered throughout Kambodia, in the districts of Siamreap and Batambang (which had been wrested from that kingdom by Siam), and in some parts of the Laos country. De Lagrée, while serving as political officer in Kambodia, had visited Angkor on more than one occasion, and had taken a scientific interest in its monuments and in the problems which they present for solution. Neither he nor any of his companions, how- ever, can claim to be regarded as in any sense the dis- coverers of these ruins, their existence having first become known to Europeans as early as 1570, as we shall pres- ently see. None the less, the accident of their sojourn at

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