In Cambodia, during excavations in the Phnom Kulen National Park in Sway-Low district, employees of the Siem Reap Provincial Department of Environment and archaeologists discovered a large statue of the crocodile-like god Makar, created one and a half thousand years ago.
According to The Khmer Times, the statue was made from sandstone in the 6th century AD. Its height was about 2.4 meters, and its diameter was 97 centimeters. Unfortunately, it turned out to be split into 13 parts. Scientists do not exclude that it was broken in antiquity - perhaps during a religious ritual.
“According to experts, this is a statue of Makar, the god with the head of a crocodile,” said Sun Kong, director of the provincial Department of the Environment. “We have never seen such statues before. We have not yet removed the fragments of the statue from the park, they are under the protection of foresters."
He noted that when studying the area, experts did not find the foundation of a single temple. This puzzled scientists. As a rule, divine statues were installed at the entrance to the temple as guards. But in this case, apparently, a certain master simply carved the statue out of sandstone.
By the way, the artifact was discovered by accident. A local named Chim Samriti went to the park for bamboo for his craft. Along the way, he usually searches for sacred objects.
Upon finding the statue, Samriti immediately reported the find to the local authorities. He also participated in excavations and even helped archaeologists find several fragments of the artifact.