 Excavations in December 2015 by Cambodian and international teams near Prasat Thom and the Rahal in the ancient urban core area of Koh Ker have yielded radiocarbon dates that clearly place significant habitation and activity beginning as early as the 7th-8th centuries CE - often noted as the Chenla period by historians.Some pottery types may date to the earlier Funan period.Over 24,000 artifacts and ecofacts were recovered from three test sites.