Guest reader Posted March 13 Posted March 13 From Associated Press BY SOPHENG CHEANG PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Archaeologists in Cambodia are celebrating an unexpected find at the country’s centuries-old Angkor temple complex: the torso of a statue of Buddha that matches a head found nearly a century ago at the same site. The torso, believed to be from the 12th or 13th century, was discovered during a dig by a team of Cambodian and Indian experts last month at Angkor’s Ta Prohm temple. It was found along with 29 fragments that appeared to be part of the same statue, archaeologist Neth Simon said this week. It stands at 1.16 meters (3 3/4 feet) tall and is in the Bayon art style, associated with Angkor’s Bayon temple. “It was a big surprise when we unearthed this sculpture because all we’d found so far were small pieces,” Neth Simon told The Associated Press by phone from Siem Reap province. She described the statue’s design as displaying carved jewelry and robe and sash, with a unique left-hand gesture across the chest — “an uncommon representation in Khmer (Cambodian) art.” Continues at https://apnews.com/article/angkor-wat-art-archaeology-buddha-statue-5b1196c0d695436efeb40debd07f82d0 Quote
