Chance discovery at bottom of Angkor Wat temple pond

SIEM REAP:

Cambodian authorities have discovered a mysterious 1,000-year-old structure of a wooden building in the bottom of a pond at the Angkor Wat temple complex’s northern cave.

Heritage conservation agency Apsara National Authority (ANA) told the Phnom Penh Post that the structure’s discovery was made by chance as the conservation team had not previously noticed it.

Im Sokrithy, deputy director at ANA’s Angkor International Research and Documentation Center, said it was a mystery buried for almost a millennium.

“We have never seen such a thing in any other place, especially not in Angkor Wat. Khmer and foreign archaeologists have been researching Angkor areas for more than 150 years, but have never discovered anything like this.”

He said ANA initially aimed to just restore and repair the pond, a favourite with local and international visitors who often take pictures of the temple that reflected off the water.

However, because too many people visit the pond, there is a lot of sediment at its base. The cliff and shoreline have also been damaged. Hence, ANA decided to restore it to bring out the best of the temple and the pond.

“We found the wooden structure by accident as we excavated and studied the bottom of the pond. At first, we saw a wooden pole buried at the bottom of the pond and didn’t know what it was.

“But the interest of the archaeologists was piqued. They wanted to ascertain the kind of wood and discovered that it is a structure of a building,” said Sokrithy.

He said the structure had not been fully explored as it could only be partially seen. ANA would continue its research to see the bottom structure of the building.

“In about a week, we will have a better picture.”

He said ANA would continue to research its history to ascertain the building’s exact age.