Angkor Thom statues unearthed

via Phnom Penh Post, 09 June 2022: Sculpture fragments around the Angkor Thom Ta Kav gate has previously been reported here and here.

Recently discovered statues at one of the gates of Angkor Thom temple in Siem Reap province have attracted public attention after their pictures went viral on social media.

An archaeological team from the Apsara National Authority (ANA) found the buried statues broken in pieces – including the heads and pieces of their bodies – during an excavation of the Ta Kav gate at Angkor Thom.

ANA spokesman Long Kosal said the team started repairs on the Ta Kav or western gate of Angkor Thom in early 2021 and found the statues, which are of devas and asuras, in July and September.

He noted that in front of the five gates of the temple stand the sculptures of the devas and asuras – a class of demons in Hindu and Buddhist mythology – turning and churning up the water in a tug of war in a process called the Churning of the Ocean of Milk to extract from the waters the elixir of immortality.

Source: Angkor Thom statues unearthed | Phnom Penh Post