SIEM REAP: On Wednesday, 19 October 2022, officials of the APSARA National Authority found the statue of an Asura head while cleaning up the area where souvenir stalls were located in front of the south gate of Angkor Thom.

The head of the registration team of the Department of Conservation of Monuments and Preventive Archaeology of the APSARA National Authority, Chhouk Somala, said that after moving the souvenir stalls to the new parking lot in front of Phnom Bakheng, the team went to clean up the area and found this Asura head.

Somala stated that the team dug 30-40 cm deep into the ground and found three pieces of ancient stones which they cleaned and assembled into the Bayon style Asura head. The statue measures 60 cm tall, 65 cm wide, and 59 cm in thickness. As the team continues to restore Angkor Thom’s south gate, they believe that they will continue to find more lost statues.

All found statues will be brought to the Preah Norodom Sihanouk-Angkor Museum to be cleaned and restored properly.

This current restoration expedition began after UNESCO stated that the modern buildings in the Angkor area have affected the historical site and must be demolished to avoid it from being removed from the World Heritage Site list.

Prime Minister Hun Sen has stated that he will not allow Angkor to be removed from the list, and said that the government is currently using gentle methods to ask people to leave the Angkor area. However, he added that in the future, if any citizens continue to refuse to leave, the government will implement stricter administrative measures where compensation for relocation will not be provided.

Currently, more than 6,000 families have been compensated by the government for relocating from the Angkor area to Run Ta Ek Natural Village in Siem Reap's Banteay Srei district.