barays

Barays are large, typically rectangular, man-made reservoirs used in the Khmer Empire for water storage and irrigation. The term baray derives from Khmer for reservoir or lake. A baray consists of an earthen embankment surrounding a shallow basin, often connected by a network of canals to other watercourses and to agricultural fields. They were part of a broader hydraulic system that regulated water flow, reduced drought risk, and supported intensive rice cultivation.

Two of the most famous barays are the East Baray and the West Baray near Angkor, Cambodia. These massive structures extend for several kilometers and could store large volumes of water. Construction likely occurred between the 9th and 13th centuries, during the Khmer Empire, with various kings commissioning additional barays.

Barays served multiple functions: storing water for dry seasons, maintaining paddy production, aiding flood control, and possibly carrying ceremonial or symbolic significance tied to the empire’s religious and political ideologies. Their design was integrated with a widespread system of canals and sluices that distributed water across the landscape to farms and villages.

Today, many barays are dry or seasonally wet, and sedimentation plus agricultural use have altered their original form. East Baray and West Baray survive as monumental features within the Angkor archaeological area, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Barays remain an important record of Khmer hydraulic engineering and state organization.