Cambodian and Singaporean archaeologists working in the area of the ancient capital of the Khmer Empire, Angkor in the current Cambodian province of Siem Reap, on Saturday removed a two-meter statue of a giant guard from under a 40-centimeter layer of earth, which stood 800 years ago at the gates of an Angkor hospital, the Internet reported on Monday. -version of the Cambodia Daily newspaper.
The statue, according to preliminary estimates dating back to the 12th century, was the first large object found in Angkor in 6 years. In 2011, two large Buddha statues dating from a later time were discovered near the site of the Saturday find.
The statue was found in a new excavation, laid on Friday at the northern gate of the city of Angkor Thom, built during the reign of the Angkorian emperor Jayavarman VII, who made this city his capital. The reign of Jayavarman VII is known to historians as the time of large-scale social programs. In particular, it was by order of this monarch that 102 hospitals were built in the country, which at that time included the territory of present-day Cambodia and significant parts of modern Laos and Thailand. The dominant religion at that time in Angkor was Hinduism, and therefore most of the stone sculptures found from that period depict Hindu deities.
The found statue of a guardian demon is skilfully carved in stone and of great historical value, even though it lacks parts of its legs and arms, the newspaper said, citing specialists from the Apsara Office, a government agency subordinate to the Cambodian Ministry of Culture. The department is responsible for archaeological work on the territory of the "Angkor Historical Park", a gigantic area of Siem Reap province, on the territory of which from the 9th to the 15th centuries there were several capitals of the ancient Khmer empire.
Cambodia Daily writes that in addition to specialists from the Apsara Office and the Singapore Institute for Southeast Asian Studies, archaeological students from Asian countries, Europe and the United States are participating in the work on the new excavation site at the northern gate of Angkor Thom.
Large finds in the park are very rare, since many statues and bas-reliefs carved from stone were plundered from the Angkor Wat temple and the city of Angkor Thom in the period from the late 19th century to the first decade of the 21st century: during the period of French colonization and during the period of relatively recent wars and upheaval, especially during the Khmer Rouge reign in 1975-1979, when the protection of historical monuments was not a priority for the Cambodian authorities. Currently, many Angkor artifacts that have ended up in museums in Europe and the United States are returning to Cambodia.
Cambodian and foreign archaeologists working in Angkor, nevertheless, are confident that in the near future they will face amazing and numerous discoveries, since most of the "Angkor Park" is still being cleared of the jungle, and it is in this newly cleared part that new ones will be laid. excavations in the following years. Aerial photography has confirmed that the jungle in the uncleared areas hides another, as yet completely unknown, city of the Angkor era.