PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA—Archaeologists excavating near an entrance to the twelfth-century stone temple of Tai Nei in Angkor, Cambodia, have unearthed the head of a Buddhist sculpture, reports the Phnom Penh Post. The team was searching for remains of the temple's roof when they discovered the sandstone head, which measures almost two feet high. Likely dating to the late twelfth century, the sculpture represents a bodhisattva, or an enlightened person in the Buddhist faith. According to Apsara Authority archaeologist Chhouk Somala, the style of the head's carving suggests that it was meant to depict a bodhisattva known as Avalokitesvara. In the Mahayana Buddhist tradition practiced at Angkor, Avalokitesvara embodies the compassion of all manifestations of the Buddha. To read in depth about Angkor-era temples, go to "Letter From Cambodia: Storied Landscape."
