Cambodian archaeologists unearth a dozen sandstone statues at Angkor, a UNESCO site

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia. Archaeologists in Cambodia have discovered a dozen centuries-old sandstone statues, making a “remarkable discovery” in Angkor World Heritage near the city of Siem Reap, authorities said on Wednesday.

Statues depicting so-called “door guardians” were discovered last week near the northern gate leading to the 11th-century Royal Palace in Angkor Thom, the last capital of the Khmer Empire, said Long Kosal, a spokesman for the National Apsara Authority. , the government agency that oversees the archaeological park.

Teams were assessing the structure of the ancient gate and looking for stones around the portal on the north side of Angkor Thom, one of four entrances to the complex, when the discovery was made.

The statues depict guardians standing still and vary in size from 1 meter to 110 centimeters, or approximately 39 to 43 inches. They were found buried up to 1.4 meters (4.5 feet) deep, and some are in surprisingly good shape, each with unique facial hair ornaments that add to their distinctiveness, according to archaeologist Sorn Chanthorne. .

“Experts believe that these door guardian statues are an example of the Kneang style, corresponding to the 11th century palace construction period.” reports Apsara National Management.

Angkor Thom is part of the Angkor Archaeological Park, a complex spanning some 400 square kilometers (155 sq mi), named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992 and one of Southeast Asia’s most popular tourist destinations.

It contains the ruins of the capitals of the Khmer Empire from the 9th to the 15th century, including the temple of Angkor Wat.

Plot, nearby Siem Reap, about 200 miles (320 kilometers) northwest of the capitalPhnom Penh attracted more than 500,000 international visitors in the first half of 2024, according to Cambodia’s tourism ministry.

According to Apsara, the archaeological dig was a joint project between Apsara and the Sino-Cambodian government team for the protection of Angkor.

After discovering the statues, the archaeological team carefully documented their location before removing them for cleaning and restoration. According to the authorities, later they will be returned to their original place.

Many Khmer cultural treasures were looted during a long period of civil war and instability when Cambodia was ruled by brutal communists. The Khmer Rouge regime in the 1970s.

Cambodia has benefited from a trend in recent decades that has seen the repatriation of art and archaeological treasures taken from their homelands. in In August, the return of dozens of artifacts was celebrated from museums and private collections abroad.

It also has be criticized for efforts to clean up the Angkor site, which displaced thousands of families, which Amnesty International condemned as a “gross violation of international human rights law.”

At its meeting in July, the UN World Heritage Committee recommended that Cambodia invite a new panel of experts control the situation.