Category Archives: CAMBODIA

Rare Turtle Statue Found Submerged in Angkor Reservoir

Rare Turtle Statue Found Submerged in Angkor Reservoir

Archaeologists in Cambodia have discovered a massive, century-old turtle statue in the temple complex of Angkor.

The Srah Srang reservoir site at sunset, Angkor Archaeological Park, Cambodia.

On Wednesday, a carved, 56 by 93 centimeters (22-by-37 inches) carved stone turtle believed to date from the 10th century was discovered during digging at what was the site of a small temple that had been built on Srah Srang, one of Angkor’s several reservoirs.

Researchers pinpointed where the temple had been and workers drained the water off to enable the dig, which began March 16, said Mao Sokny, head of the excavation team of the Apsara Authority, a government agency that oversees the Angkor archaeological site.

The bottom half of the turtle remained buried Thursday while preparations were being made to lift it out without damaging it.

Angkor was strongly influenced by Hindu culture, and as a result, when a temple or other important structure was built, sacred objects would often be buried in the ground underneath as a gesture to ensure safety and good fortune.

In several Asian cultures, turtles are seen as symbols of longevity and prosperity.

The turtle sculpture found in the Angkor reservoir is believed to have been placed as an offering in the temple’s foundation.

The Glories of a Temple Submerged in the Angkor Reservoir

According to The Star, ‘the remnants of the temple can be seen peeking over the waterline in the dry season’. Srah Srang is completely submerged during Cambodia’s wet season.

It appears that at some date the artificial island upon which the structure was built sank into the sediment of the Angkor reservoir or baray.

This temple is believed to date to the 9th or 10th century AD and was rebuilt by King Jayavarman VII.

It was built in the Khmer style of architecture that was influenced by South Indian buildings.

Some of the original landing points that were built to allow people to access the temple can still be seen. Archaeologists have unearthed a burial site with the cremated remains of many individuals near the sunken temple.

The Kandal Srah Srang temple was once one of the many wonders of Angkor Wat. Angkor Wat was the capital of the Khmer Empire, which was the dominant power in South East Asia for much of the Medieval era.

It was an Indianized kingdom and was heavily influenced by Buddhism and Hinduism. This Empire collapsed in the 15th century because of environmental factors and foreign invasions.

A Glimpse into Khmer Rituals and Ceremonies

The Hindu-Buddhist culture of the Khmer Empire is crucial in helping experts to understand the turtle statue. Similar objects have been found at Khmer temples such as Lor Ley, but the one found at Sran Srang is much larger.

Chea Socheat told The Khmer Times that “The turtle is known as one of the avatars of the Hindu god, Vishnu.” Depictions of turtles were often ritual offerings and they were placed in the center or foundations of temples.

However, experts cannot definitively state if this was the case for this particular statue, though they believe the sculpture may have been used as part of some religious ritual or celebration.

The Khmer Times quotes Chea Socheat as saying that “Our recent discovery can help explain the history of the temple, including the religious ceremonies that were once performed here.”

There have been many archaeological studies of the site but there have been no systematic investigations based on the objects unearthed.

Trident found at Kandal Srah Srang Temple in Siem Reap province.

Thus, this rare find in the Angkor reservoir could help experts to better understand the culture and religion of the Khmer Empire.

21 Buddha Statues Found Buried in Angkor Wat Area

21 Buddha Statues Found Buried in Angkor Wat Area

SIEM REAP, CAMBODIA—Reports that 141 statue fragments were uncovered in Angkor Wat by Apsara Authority workers who were installing an irrigation system.

The statue fragments are thought to make up 21 Buddha statues, although no heads have been recovered.

“The statues were buried and mixed up with some modern items, including a metal door frame, glass shrapnel, a bicycle bell and rim, and even plastic bags,” said project manager Srun Tech, who thinks the statues were buried in the 1960s or 1970s.

More than 100 remnants of Buddha statues were uncovered by archaeological experts in Siem Reap province’s Angkor Wat area

The Apsara Authority said yesterday that more than 100 remains of statues of Buddha were discovered by archeological experts from Angkor Wat Province in Siem Reap.

Srun Tech, manager of the Apsara Authority’s excavation project at Angkor Wat temple, said the artifacts were discovered accidentally on Saturday by the Apsara Authority’s working team, who were implementing an irrigation system management project in the area.

An excavation operation has since unearthed 141 remnants of Buddha figurines, equivalent to 21 whole statues.

“We have mostly found Buddha statues – 21, so far. The statues were buried and mixed up with some modern items, including metal door frame, glass shrapnel, bicycle bell, and rim and even plastic bags. were mostly broken, with no heads attached, prompting the archaeologists to suspect the missing parts could have been buried deeper.

Judging by the way the statues were orderly buried, Mr. Tech said the artifacts may have been buried intentionally to avoid being detected by other people.

“The recent discovery underscores the fact that the Angkor Wat is still an important target for further research,” he said.

I’m Sokrithy, head of Conservation of Monuments in the Angkor Park Department, said as of yesterday, the Apsara Authority’s working group has excavated 40 centimeters of land at the site.

The excavation work will continue to be carried out, including further studies on the era from when the statues were made and the purpose behind the burying of the relics.

In late March, the Apsara Authority’s working team also discovered a wooden structure of more than 1,000 years of age and a Ganesh statue in the middle of the Angkor Wat temple’s northern pond while experts were restoring the pond.

Statue Fragments Found Near Cambodia’s Bayon Temple

Statue Fragments Found Near Cambodia’s Bayon Temple

SIEM REAP, CAMBODIA— The large statue fragments have been recovered from a canal near the Gate of the Dead at Angkor Thom by members of Cambodia’s Department of Monuments and Preventive Archaeology, the heritage police, and agents from the Apsara Authority.

Two sandstone heads of tug-of-war statues have been spotted near the Gate of the Dead

“The god statue found by the working team has four pieces, while another giant statue has only the back part without a face,” said Chhouk Somala of the Department of Monuments and Preventive Archaeology.

Two sandstone heads of tug-of-war statues have been spotted and brought out from a canal near the Gate of the Dead. This was found today on the eastern side of Siem Reap province’s Bayon temple.

Chhouk Somala, an officer in charge of archaeological registration at the Department of Monuments and Preventive Archaeology said, two heads of statues including one god and a giant of the tug-of-war statue at the Gate of the Dead, have been found by the department’s working team, heritage police, and Apsara Authority’s travel agents.

He added, “The god statue found by the working team has four pieces, while another giant statue has only the back part without a face.”

The finding of the two statues was not accidental because the general structures of the tug-of-war statue have been damaged due to the age of the structure, natural forces, and war which made some of those statues fall into the water and get buried in the ground.

Long Kosal, Apsara Authority spokesman, said archaeologists in the past have also discovered the sandstone statues at some sites in the Angkor Archaeological Park, and have been brought to the Preah Norodom Sihanouk-Angkor Museum for study and preservation.

“After taking these two statues out of the water, our working team has brought it to the Department of Monuments and Preventive Archaeology to register them as art objects, repair and conduct further studies before handing them over to be artifacts in the museum,” he said.

There are carvings found in the Angkor Wat temples that seem to resemble dinosaurs.

There are carvings found in the Angkor Wat temples that seem to resemble dinosaurs.

By the time that our ape ancestors split from the line that would produce chimpanzees, which happened about 4 million to 7 million years ago, non-avian dinosaurs had been extinct for more than 58 million years.

Birds, the descendants of one group of small theropod dinosaurs, are the only dinosaurs that survived the end-Cretaceous mass extinction. There are a number of people who reject the scientific view, however, and insist that humans and dinosaurs once lived together within the last 10,000 years or so.

These “young Earth creationists” twist Biblical passages to support their view that Tyrannosaurus rex lived peacefully in the Garden of Eden. They also supplement their beliefs with some rather spurious evidence—like a carving found on a Cambodian temple.

The famous ‘Tomb Raider’ doorway, Ta Prohm Temple, Angkor, Cambodia.

It is not known precisely when the carving was first noticed, but during the past several years, creationist groups have been a-twitter about a supposed carving of a Stegosaurus on the popular Ta Prohm temple in Cambodia. (The story recently reappeared on the “All News Web” site, an internet tabloid that specializes in tales of UFOs and other humbugs.) Since the temple was built around the end of the 12th century, some take this bas relief to suggest that Stegosaurus, or something Stegosaurus-like, survived until a few hundred years ago.

While certainly not proving their view that dinosaurs and humans were created together less than 10,000 years ago, it is consistent with their beliefs and is a favorite piece of evidence among creationists.

There is a substantial problem, however. Not only does creationism distort nature to fit a narrow theological view, but there is also no evidence that the carving in question is of a dinosaur.

If you look at the carving quickly and at an angle, yes, it does superficially look like a Stegosaurus than a kindergartener made out of play-doh.

As anyone who has spent time watching the clouds go by knows, though, an active imagination can turn something plain into something fantastic. If viewed directly, the carving hardly looks Stegosaurus-like at all. The head is large and appears to have large ears and a horn.

The Ta Prohm ‘dinosaur’.

The “plates” along the back more closely resemble leaves, and the sculpture is a better match for a boar or rhinoceros against a leafy background.

Even so, the sculpture only vaguely looks like a rhino or boar. We can be certain that it is not a representation of a living Stegosaurus, but could it be a more recent attempt at depicting a dinosaur? Indeed, it is quite possible that this carving has been fabricated.

There are many sculptures at the temple, and the origin of the carving in question is unknown. There are rumors that it was created recently, perhaps by a visiting movie crew (the temple is a favorite locale for filmmakers), and it is possible that someone created something Stegosaurus-like during the past few years as a joke.

Either way, the temple carving can in no way be used as evidence that humans and non-avian dinosaurs coexisted.

The Ta Prohm ‘dinosaur’ amongst other carvings.

Fossils have inspired some myths (see Adrienne Mayor’s excellent book The First Fossil Hunters), but close scrutiny of geological layers, reliable radiometric dating techniques, the lack of dinosaur fossils in strata younger than the Cretaceous, and other lines of evidence all confirm that non-avian dinosaurs became extinct tens of millions of years before there was any type of culture that could have recorded what they looked like.

As scientist Carl Sagan said, “extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence”, and in the case of modern dinosaurs the evidence just isn’t there.

Sixth-Century Statue Discovered in Cambodia

Sixth-Century Statue Discovered in Cambodia

Officials and historians from the Siem Reap Provincial Department of Environment conducting research on a large Makara animal statue carved on a rock at the Phnom Kulen National Park in Siem Reap province’s Svay Loeu district.

Sun Kong, the Provincial Environmental Department director said yesterday that a resident discovered the head section of the broken statue and officials visited the site on Sunday.

He added that the statue was made of sandstone during the sixth century and the body was broken into pieces, noting that officials found 13 pieces of the body nearby the site.

Environmental officials inspect the ancient statue.

Mr Kong said: “According to the experts, this Makara animal statue is one that we have never seen before. It is approximately 2.14 meters in length and about 0.97 meters high.

We have not yet moved the body parts or excavated the head from the site and have told park rangers in the area to guard it in order for officials from relevant ministries and institutions to come and study in detail about the site’s history and reconstruct the pieces.”

He noted that experts have not found a foundation of any temple at the site and believe it was just carved out on the rock.

Chhim Samrithy, 38, a craftsman from the province who discovered the statue, said yesterday he spotted it on Saturday while searching for bamboo.

“I usually walk in the forest to look for some unique and sacred objects and suddenly spotted this rare statue,” he said. “After seeing it, I took environmental officials and archaeologists to the site and also helped to find some of the missing pieces of the statue.”

Long Kosal, Apsara Authority spokesman, said that the authorities’ archeologists visited the site yesterday and will conduct additional studies to add it to the records.

He said: “The Kulen National Park area is rich in ancient artifacts, both above and below the ground. Therefore,  I urge people, especially those living in the area, to avoid excavating or clearing archeological sites. If they find ancient objects, please report to the authorities for research to be done to preserve them for future generations.”