[MSN] Heritage Watch Prevents Looting at Cambodia's Largest Temple Complex

[Museum Security Network Mailinglist]

Heritage Watch Prevents Looting at Cambodia's Largest Temple Complex 

In an exciting development, Heritage Watch's actions recently prevented tomb
raiders from further plundering one of Cambodia's greatest ancient temples.
On May 9, a caller to the "Heritage Hotline" reported that powerful
officials were hiring armed looters to pillage the temple of Preah Khan of
Kompong Svay. The looters hoped to remove the few statues missed by earlier
thieves, and to search the site for valuable bronzes using metal detectors.
The source of the call, fearful of personal safety, remained anonymous.


HW immediately contacted the Ministry of Culture, and within days provincial
officials, police, and military had established a post at Preah Khan. They
discovered that thirty armed men had been searching the site for valuable
artifacts, but left when the authorities arrived, and did not return. Thanks
to the anonymous caller-and the fast response of HW and the Cambodian
govermnent-Preah Khan is safe for now. 
 
Heritage Watch also dispatched a team to photodocument the previous looting.
This information, including measurements of the terrible scars in the stone,
was sent to the FBI Art Theft Team. If these pieces turn up at US Customs,
it will now be easier to establish that they were stolen. 

   
Preah Khan, also known as the Bakan, was built by Yasovarman I (reign
889-900) and modified during the 11th century by King Suryavarman I (r.
1002-1050) and again by Jayavarman VII (r. 1181-1219). It is Cambodia's
largest temple enclosure, covering an area four times that of Angkor Wat. It
is unguarded and difficult to reach, which has made it a frequent target for
looting in the past. In the late 1990s, gangs of armed looters decimated the
site, making off with hundreds of statues. By 2003, so much of the central
sanctuary's walls had been stolen that the structure collapsed completely. 

 
The Heritage Hotline-in operation since August of 2005-is a number at which
the public can report looting or archaeological discoveries. It is a part of
HW's national campaign to raise awareness among Cambodians about the
importance of protecting the country's ancient sites.
 
You can read a story from The Phnom Penh Post about the situation at Preah
Khan .  


http://www.heritagewatch.org/