When it comes to world wonders, it's hard to top Angkor Wat in Cambodia. The massive Hindu-Buddhist temple complex contains centuries of religious, political, and cultural history from the region. It started as a Hindu temple devoted to the god Vishnu but became a Buddhist temple over time. Now, it is a huge tourist attraction in Cambodia, not to mention a focal point of constant research and study. Not surprisingly, Angkor Wat still has more than a few secrets hidden away.
A recent archaeological dig turned up a mostly complete Buddhist statue dating centuries, possibly during the 1100s or 1200s. It was discovered amongst several small pieces of the statue that had broken away over the years. The main pieces missing were the head and a hand. As it turned out, one of those problems had already been solved.
The head of this statue had been uncovered on a previous dig in 1927, nearly a century before the discovery of the statue's torso. It appears that the head and the torso match thanks to modern scanning technology. Now that the researchers have the head, the torso, and the smaller fragments, a discussion about reassembling the statue has begun. The only major piece still unaccounted for is the missing hand which archaeologists will continue to search for.
After its discovery, the statue's head has remained on display in the National Museum of Cambodia in the capital of Phnom Penh. Whether the statue is reassembled or not, the newly discovered artifacts will likely end up in the same display. Anyone planning a trip to Cambodia to visit Angkor Wat should make sure to also stop by the National Museum. It contains a significant number of artifacts related to the temple complex and key information about it.