Ancient tablet found
EXPERTS are working to determine the origin and significance of a stone tablet appearing to bear the inscription of a Khmer king’s royal directive, which was found by a farmer last week in an Oddar Meanchey province cassava field.
The farmer, identified only as Ngich, reportedly found the object while digging up rows of cassava in his field near Romchek village, according to the Culture Ministry’s Heritage Department Director-General Prak Sonnara.
“As far as I have known, this is the first tablet to be found in the area,” Sonnara said.
On Monday, officials studied the tablet – now at the provincial culture office – to determine its origins.
Vong Sotheara, a history professor at the Royal University of Phnom Penh, said the tablet bears an ancient form of Khmer seen as early as the seventh century. The part that is legible refers to offering land to the gods, though the meaning is currently unclear.
“Although the king’s name and the year are illegible, I believe that the inscription is from the reign of King Jayavarman V,” who ruled from 968 to 1001, he said.
Despite the presence of ancient temple ruins in nearby AnlongVeng, Sotheara’s hypothesis is that the tablet came from Banteay Srei, a temple in the Angkor Archaeological Park built by Jayavarman V, based on similarities to inscriptions found there, as well apparent references to the area in the text.
“Some thief may have buried the tablet . . . planning to bring it to sell in Thailand,” Sotheara said, adding that further study is required to make any firm conclusion.