Phnom Penh (VNA) – Archeologists have found a centuries-old body of Buddha statue during the second excavation at Ta Prohm Temple in northwest Cambodia's famed Angkor Archaeological Park.
The head of the Buddha statue was discovered in 1927 and is currently housed at the Angkor Conservation, said the APSARA National Authority (ANA) which is responsible for protecting the Angkor Archaeological Park.
The ANA said that the excavations at Ta Prohm yielded significant archaeological findings, including the body of a Buddha statue.
The second excavation conducted in February by the ANA in collaboration with the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) was made at an area outside the laterite enclosure northeast of the temple's third gallery.
The newly-found Buddha statue represented in the Bayon style, which was missing its head, feet, and right hand. This statue stands 1.16 m tall and has a shoulder width of 56 cm.
Notably, the statue was adorned with jewelry and featured a robe and veil, with a unique left-hand gesture placed on the chest, an uncommon representation in Khmer art.
Archaeologists identified that the body of the Buddha statue matched with previously excavated pieces of a hand and a foot, both found during the first excavation last July.
The head of the Buddha statue was scanned and compared with the newly found body.
This comparison allowed for a near-complete reassembly of the statue, with only the right hand still missing.
According to the ANA, these excavations aimed to organise and preserve the numerous art objects scattered throughout the Ta Prohm Temple complex.
In April 2024, the ANA unearthed more than 100 pieces of sandstone Buddha statues during excavations at Ta Prohm temple./.
