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Cambodian archaeologists unearth undiscovered temples



Cambodian archaeologists have unearthed the remnants of about 100 undiscovered temples, reports The Phnom Penh Post. 

The recently discovered remnants date from the 6th and 7th centuries in Kratie Province’s historical Samphu Borak area, which was the former capital of the pre-Angkor Empire Chenla period. 

The deputy director of the Institute of Arts and Culture of the Royal Academy of Cambodia, Thuy Chanthourn, said that the remnants of the temples had never been recorded in French or Cambodian archaeological studies before. 

The French have registered more than 10 temples in the northern Samphu Borak area, and the Cambodian provincial department of culture have registered more than 50 others. But nearly 100 temples have currently been unearthed and require further studies.

Only the foundations of the temples have been unearthed. The unearthed foundations are constructed from sandstone and are dedicated to the Brahmanism religion of early Hinduism. 

Thuy Chanthourn said more research needs to be conducted, however, the recent discoveries show that the ancestors of the Cambodian people were ‘truly creators, builders, and engineers.’


MARTINA NICOLLSis an international aid and development consultant, and the authorof:- Similar But Different in the Animal Kingdom(2017), The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).

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