Marc Flemming
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Registered: Jan 2003
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A previously unknown temple has been found in the middle of the Cambodian jungle, government officials said yesterday.
Chen Sran temple was recently reported discovered around 40 kilometres from the Thai-Cambodia border, deep in the jungle in northern Preah Vihear province. It was constructed in dedication to Brahmin beliefs in the ninth or tenth century, cultural officials said.
The monument was not known to authorities until villagers reported it to a provincial cultural officer, said Uong Von, chief of the heritage department at Cambodia's Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts.
Then around two months ago a group of cultural officials visited the temple deep in the forest, he said. The temple was found to be quite sizeable at 15 meters tall, measuring 150 metres in length and 100 metres in width.
However, temple expert Von said almost 50 percent of the structure was damaged and despite the lack of a proper road to the site most of its artifacts had been plundered.
"The temple remains were only a body - there were no artifacts," said Von.
Nearly a dozen unknown temples have turned up in the last decade, said the expert, who added he believed there were more temples lying undiscovered in the same area along the Thai-Cambodia border.
Source: SMH (Australia)
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03-08-2003 07:06 PM
