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Archaeologists from the Aspar National Authority (ANA), working alongside researchers from the Chinese government's Angkor Conservation Group (CSA), excavated in Cambodia's Angkor Park, home to the famous Angkor Wat temple, and discovered a dozen statues known as "guardians doors".
The statues, which scientists have called a "wonderful discovery," are believed to be about 1000 years old. About this reported the Ancient Origins.
The Angkor statues were found just days ago buried near the northern gate leading to the 11th century Royal Palace of Angkor Thom, which was the last capital of the Khmer Empire. These statues were placed next to doors or gates leading to important buildings, which is why archaeologists call them "door keepers".
Earlier this fall, the discovery of just one such statue caused quite a stir in the Southeast Asian archaeological community. But this time archaeologists have hit the jackpot by unearthing 12 figures that hold immense religious and spiritual significance in the Hindu religion.
The researchers started digging in the area not particularly expecting to find anything, so they were shocked when they started digging up the ancient sandstone statues one by one. The statues were buried at various depths, with the last one being found about 1,4 meters underground.
The statues differed slightly in size. The smallest "door guards" were about one meter tall, while the largest were about 110 centimeters high. Several statues turned out to be in fairly good condition.
They all portrayed unique characters with slightly different traits. According to Cambodian archaeologist Sorn Chanthorn, their facial hair ornaments, in particular, were different, giving each "door guardian" a distinctive appearance.
