The Phnom Penh Post
Thursday, 05 February 2009
Dave Perkes
One of the mysteries of Angkor is a carved figure of a dinosaur that looks suspiciously like a stegosaurus. There is some speculation as to its origin. I have seen photos of it, and even a restaurant in Siem Reap, Goodysaurus, was named after it.
Some say it's an original carving, but I don't believe the ancient Khmers would have known about stegosauruses. Was it carved by a temple restorer as a bit of a joke, or has Cambodia got the equivalent of the Loch Ness monster? I had never seen this carved figure in situ, so I asked one of my lead guides, Ta Elit, exactly where it was. He told me that it was in a quiet part of Ta Prohm and is easily missed by the casual visitor. With the aid of a detailed plan of the temple, I found the carving on the east side of the West Gopura to the right of the entry tower. It certainly looked like a dinosaur and appeared very authentic. I did some research and found fanciful accounts on the web of humans existing with dinosaurs that I found quite amusing. My conclusion about this carving is that it may be a Sumatran rhino or even a pangolin, which have a similar shape.
Thursday, 05 February 2009
Dave Perkes
One of the mysteries of Angkor is a carved figure of a dinosaur that looks suspiciously like a stegosaurus. There is some speculation as to its origin. I have seen photos of it, and even a restaurant in Siem Reap, Goodysaurus, was named after it.
Some say it's an original carving, but I don't believe the ancient Khmers would have known about stegosauruses. Was it carved by a temple restorer as a bit of a joke, or has Cambodia got the equivalent of the Loch Ness monster? I had never seen this carved figure in situ, so I asked one of my lead guides, Ta Elit, exactly where it was. He told me that it was in a quiet part of Ta Prohm and is easily missed by the casual visitor. With the aid of a detailed plan of the temple, I found the carving on the east side of the West Gopura to the right of the entry tower. It certainly looked like a dinosaur and appeared very authentic. I did some research and found fanciful accounts on the web of humans existing with dinosaurs that I found quite amusing. My conclusion about this carving is that it may be a Sumatran rhino or even a pangolin, which have a similar shape.
3 comments:
Way cool! Some vеry valid pоіntѕ!
Ӏ apρreсіate yοu writing this article plus the rest of
the ѕite is гeаlly good.
Here is mу wеbpage; rubber iphone 4s cases
Μy spouse and I absolutеly lοve your blοg and find а
lοt of your pоst's to be exactly I'm loоking foг.
Doеs one offer guest writers to wrіtе content for yourself?
I wοuldn't mind producing a post or elaborating on a few of the subjects you write concerning here. Again, awesome web site!
My site - Iphone 4s Accessories
Mу spousе аnԁ I absοlutely
love youг blog and fіnd a lоt of your poѕt's to be exactly I'm looκing for.
Does onе offeг gueѕt wгitеrs to wrіte content
for yoursеlf? I woulԁn't mind producing a post or elaborating on a few of the subjects you write concerning here. Again, awesome web site!
Feel free to visit my web page - Iphone 4s Accessories
Post a Comment