SIEM REAP: The Norodom Sihanouk-Angkor Museum is exhibiting the right Buddha footprint statue, which weighs about three tons, to allow members of the public to study and understand more about the religion, art and history of 600-700 years ago during the Angkor area.

The APSARA Authority released a statement on Tuesday, 21 February 2023, stating that that the Buddha footprint statue, which is a relic from the Angkorian period, had been on display at the museum for almost a year now, since May 2022.

The head of the exhibition team and the guide at the Norodom Sihanouk-Angkor Museum in Siem Reap, Kun Phally, said that the ancient sandstone Buddha footprint was carved during the 14th-16th centuries AD. The statue weighs about 3 tons and is 2.10 meters long, 1.15 meters wide and 31 centimeters tall. The statue had been painted in black, red and gold.

Studies show that in the past, this Buddha footprint statue was considered by the Cambodian people to be an important object of worship in Theravada Buddhism and was kept at the 'Angkor Wat in Thousand Buddha Gallery' (Rout Preah Pan) from the 14th century until 1985.

The sandstone Buddha footprint was then taken to be preserved and restored by the Angkor Conservation Team, and later, the Minister of Culture and Fine Arts and President of the Board of the APSARA Authority, Phoeurng Sackona, came to oversee the conservation. After seeing that the footprint had already been repaired, the Minister of Culture advised the conservation team to display this object to the public so that they can visit and learn about ancient Khmer culture and art, especially that pertaining to post-Angkorian Buddha statues.

Kun Phally has said that there are 108 different carvings in the center of the Buddha footprint, which are considered to represent happiness.

The Norodom Sihanouk-Angkor Museum is located in Boeung Don Pa Village, Sangkat Slor Kram, Siem Reap City. Besides the Buddha footprint statue, visitors can also see hundreds of other artefacts retrieved from excavations, research projects and repatriated from other individuals.