Unexpected Update on 4 Statues

In an unexpected update from the experts at the National Museum of Cambodia, the statues unearthed by farmers in a field in Tumring commune, Sandan district of Kompong Thom on 7 June, which were initially thought to be modern reproductions, have been re-classified as genuine and dated to the Angkor and Post-Angkor periods. An initial assessment of the four metal figures – a seated Buddha, an 18-arm Chinese-style Goddess Durga, a 6-arm Male Deity with characteristics of the Hindu Trimurti and a seated Female Deity, alongwith some metal bangles – indicated that they may’ve been buried in the soil in the past 20-30 years, but now the museum’s experts have re-evaluated their age as between 800-1,000 years old. It’s an interesting re-assessment and the museum pointedly made a special mention of gratitude to the farmers who originally found the objects and handed them to the local authorities.