Cambodian Archaeologists Discover a Dozen Centuries-Old Sandstone Statues at Angkor UNESCO Site

 This handout photo provided by Apsaras National Authority shows a centuries-old sandstone statue being measured at Angkor Thom in Cambodia, Oct. 24, 2024. (Phouk Chea/Apsaras National Authority via AP)
This handout photo provided by Apsaras National Authority shows a centuries-old sandstone statue being measured at Angkor Thom in Cambodia, Oct. 24, 2024. (Phouk Chea/Apsaras National Authority via AP)
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Cambodian Archaeologists Discover a Dozen Centuries-Old Sandstone Statues at Angkor UNESCO Site

 This handout photo provided by Apsaras National Authority shows a centuries-old sandstone statue being measured at Angkor Thom in Cambodia, Oct. 24, 2024. (Phouk Chea/Apsaras National Authority via AP)
This handout photo provided by Apsaras National Authority shows a centuries-old sandstone statue being measured at Angkor Thom in Cambodia, Oct. 24, 2024. (Phouk Chea/Apsaras National Authority via AP)

Archaeologists in Cambodia have unearthed a dozen centuries-old sandstone statues in a “remarkable discovery” at the Angkor World Heritage Site near the city of Siem Reap, authorities said Wednesday.

The statues — depicting so-called “door guardians” — were discovered last week near the north gate leading to the 11th-century Royal Palace at Angkor Thom, the last capital of the Khmer Empire, said Long Kosal, spokesman for the Apsara National Authority, the government agency that oversees the archaeological park.

Teams were assessing the ancient gate's structure and searching for fallen stones around the portal on the north side of Angkor Thom, one of four entrances to the complex, when the discovery was made.

The statues depict guardians standing at attention and vary in size from about 1 meter to 110 centimeters, or about 39 to 43 inches. They were found buried at depths of up to 1.4 meters (4.5 feet) and some are in surprisingly good shape, with each featuring unique facial hair ornaments, adding to their distinctiveness, archaeologist Sorn Chanthorn said.

“Experts believe these door guardian statues exemplify the Khneang Style, aligning with the construction period of the 11th-century palace.” the Apsara National Authority said.

Angkor Thom is part of the Angkor Archaeological Park, a complex that sprawls over some 400 square kilometers (155 square miles), named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992 and one of Southeast Asia's most popular tourist destinations.

It contains the ruins of Khmer Empire capitals from the 9th to 15th centuries, including the temple of Angkor Wat.

The site, near Siem Reap, about 200 miles (320 kilometers) northwest of the capital, Phnom Penh, drew more than 500,000 international visitors in the first half of 2024, according to Cambodia’s Tourism Ministry.

The archaeological dig was a collaborative project between Apsara and the China-Cambodia Government Team for Safeguarding Angkor, Apsara said.

Following the discovery of the statues, the archaeological team carefully documented their positions before removing them for cleaning and restoration. They will eventually be returned to their original locations, authorities said.

Many Khmer cultural treasures were looted during the long period of civil war and instability when Cambodia was ruled by the brutal communist Khmer Rouge regime in the 1970s.

Cambodia has benefited from a trend that in recent decades has seen the repatriation of art and archaeological treasures taken from their homelands. In August, it celebrated the return of dozens of artifacts from museums and private collections abroad.

It has also come under criticism for efforts to clean up the Angkor site, which has involved relocating thousands of families in what Amnesty International has condemned as a “gross violation of international human rights law.”

At its meeting in July, the UN's World Heritage Committee recommended that Cambodia invite a new team of experts to monitor the situation.



Chopin Waltz Unearthed after 200 Years

The birthplace of the Polish composer Frederic Chopin, May 7, 2010 in Wola, near Warsaw. (AFP)
The birthplace of the Polish composer Frederic Chopin, May 7, 2010 in Wola, near Warsaw. (AFP)
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Chopin Waltz Unearthed after 200 Years

The birthplace of the Polish composer Frederic Chopin, May 7, 2010 in Wola, near Warsaw. (AFP)
The birthplace of the Polish composer Frederic Chopin, May 7, 2010 in Wola, near Warsaw. (AFP)

An unknown waltz by Chopin, written nearly 200 years ago, has been discovered in the vault of the Morgan Library and Museum in New York.

The score, on a card bearing Frederic Chopin's hand-written name, was found by a curator in the spring, the New York Times reported Sunday.

"I thought, 'What's going on here? What could this be?' I didn't recognize the music," curator Robinson McClellan told the paper.

He was at first unsure that the piece was actually Chopin's after photographing the score and playing it on a keyboard at home.

He conferred with an academic at the University of Pennsylvania who is an expert on Chopin, before the Morgan concluded the find was genuine after testing the ink and paper.

The penmanship was also found to match Chopin's, including the reproduction of a stylized bass clef symbol as well as doodling characteristic of the composer.

"We have total confidence in our conclusion," McClellan said.

The museum believes that the music is from between 1830 and 1835, when Chopin was in his early 20s.

The tune features a stark opening and was described by pianist Lang Lang as containing "dramatic darkness turning into a positive thing."

Chopin, who wrote mostly piano solos, died aged 39 in France in 1849.