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Archaeology & History

Statue unearthed at Cambodia's Angkor Wat

By T.K. Randall
August 2, 2017 · Comment icon 6 comments

Angkor Wat was once at the center of a huge empire. Image Credit: CC BY-SA 2.0 Sam Garza
Archaeologists working at the Angkor Wat temple complex have discovered a 12th-century statue.
Originally constructed as a Hindu temple for the Khmer Empire over 800 years ago, Angkor Wat remains the single largest religious monument in the world.

Now a team of archaeologists excavating the site of an ancient hospital built during the reign of King Jayavarman VII (1181-1220) have reported the discovery of a large statue that they believe would have once stood at the building's entrance to act as a guardian.

Described as the most important statue found at Angkor Wat in many years, the two-meter stone behemoth was found buried 16 inches beneath the ground.

The researchers are now hoping to locate more artefacts at the site to help build up a more complete picture of what life might have been like at the temple over eight centuries ago.

"We would hit gold if we found the statue of the Buddha," said historian Dr Rethy Chhem.

Source: BBC News | Comments (6)




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Recent comments on this story
Comment icon #1 Posted by Ozfactor 8 years ago
very impressive , what a great find !
Comment icon #2 Posted by BeastieRunner 8 years ago
Nice find! And it's nice that it's from an area we don't see a lot of interesting finds like this.
Comment icon #3 Posted by third_eye 8 years ago
Something that evaded the looters ... thank the heavens for small miracles ... ~
Comment icon #4 Posted by paperdyer 8 years ago
From the picture, it looks in good shape as well/
Comment icon #5 Posted by Sundew 8 years ago
Was there several years ago, it's an amazing place, and you cannot believe the size of the temple and grounds. A giant moat surrounds the area as well, I believe they diverted a river to make it. I was told that the ancients of this area kept building larger and larger temples over the centuries and this was the culmination which apparently bankrupted the nation that built it. Many of the temples in the area like Angkor Thon were reclaimed by the jungle and I believe it has only been since the advent of satellite imaging that they have discovered more hidden ruins. 
Comment icon #6 Posted by Boozemonkey 8 years ago
It really is amazing


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