The APSARA National Authority’s stone restoration and conservation team has connected the piece of ivory stone to the middle head of the three-headed elephant sculpture at the southeast corner of the Takav Gate, said the authority in a news release this morning.

According to the same source, the connection was made after the excavation team found this ivory.

Mr. Mom Sophon, Technical Officer for Stone Restoration and Conservation said that the team excavated and cleared the area around Takav Gate and found two pieces of ivory stone – one was at the southeast corner of the elephant’s head and the other at the southwest corner. One of the two pieces is fully formed and found its original location, i.e. at the middle head of the three-headed elephant sculpture at the southeast corner of the gate. It is 44 cm long, 23 cm wide, and 20 cm thick. The second piece is not fully formed and cannot be identified at any location of the three-headed elephants.

The technical official said that the connection of the ivory piece to the original location will allow the public, national and international tourists to see the full shape of the three-headed elephant sculpture that Khmer ancestors carved, what kind of ivory, and in particular, the value of the art history that Khmer ancestors left behind was not completely lost.

Mr. Mom Sophon said that it was good that the ivory, which has been buried in the ground for many years, has been found. Moreover, he added, we also found the original location, and the public could visit and explore the southeast corner of the Takav Gate because we rarely see the three-headed elephant sculpture’s full shape of ivory stone at the five gates of Angkor Thom.

Source: Agence Kampuchea Presse