East Baray, also known in inscriptions as Yashodharatataka, is a vast rectangular reservoir east of Angkor Thom in Cambodia’s Angkor Archaeological Park. Built under King Yasovarman I toward the end of the ninth century, it was one of the largest engineered features of the Angkorian landscape. The earthen embankments still mark its scale: APSARA, Cambodia’s authority responsible for Angkor, describes the reservoir as roughly 7.5 kilometres long and 1.8 kilometres wide.
The baray was not a natural lake. Its builders enclosed a broad area with embankments and connected it to a wider network of watercourses. APSARA says the reservoir received water from the Siem Reap River and helped regulate its flow and support the surrounding plain. Archaeological studies map a complex network of reservoirs, channels, dikes and ponds across Greater Angkor. Researchers continue to discuss how the system’s roles changed over time; water management, agriculture, drainage, political organization and religious meaning are not necessarily competing explanations.
