– Archaeologists have found a large, centuries-old statue which is believed to have once stood guard over an ancient hospital at Cambodia's renowned Angkor temple complex.The government agency that oversees the complex, the Apsara Authority, said the nearly two-metre-tall statue, which is thought to be from the late 12th to the early 13th century, was discovered during an excavation on July 29.Cambodian archaeologists and experts from Singapore's Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS) found the statue buried 40 centimetres under the ground during an excavation of an Angkor-era hospital built during the reign of King Jayavarman VII.The Apsara agency said the sandstone statue's arms and legs had broken off but the carving on the body and head "remain beautiful" despite the passage of time.Angkor was the capital of the Khmer Empire, which flourished from approximately the 9th to 15th centuries. The Angkor Archeological Park, a world heritage site, contains the remains of the different capitals of the Khmer Empire, dating from the 9th to the 15th centuries, and is Cambodia’s most popular tourist destination. Visitors to the Angkor complex encounter a dizzying array of temples, the earlier ones from when Hinduism was the dominant religion of the Khmer Empire and later ones after Buddhism had taken hold. Experts estimate the ancient hospital site dates back to a period between eight and nine centuries ago, and the remarkable artifact is now said to be one of the largest statues from the era to be unearthed in recent years. Cambodian archaeologists and experts from Singapore’s Institute of Southeast Asian Studies found the statue buried 40 centimeters (16 inches) underground during an excavation of an Angkor-era hospital built during the reign of King Jayavarman VII.
A 2 meter (6.5 feet) tall 12th century sandstone statue of a human figure is unearthed by archaeologists during an excavation of a Khmer Empire-era hospital built during the reign of King Jayavarman VII at Cambodia's Angkor Wat temple complex in Siem Reap Province.