Lost Art of Ancient Angkor Wat Temple Discovered After 500 Years

Archaeologists have uncovered priceless artifacts that haven't been seen for hundreds of years. They've discovered long-lost paintings on the walls of Cambodia's ancient Angkor Wat temple that depict deities, animals, boats and the temple itself.

Angkor Wat is one of the world's most famous monuments, and is a national symbol of Cambodia. The temple was first built in the 12^th century, and was actually in the center of the city of Angkor, which was the capital of the Khmer Empire from the 9^th to 15^th centuries. It attracts about two million tourists a year yet until now, the paintings were not noticed. In fact, many thought that they were just the remnants of graffiti left by early travelers to the temple.

The paintings were first discovered by Noel Hidalgo Tan, who found the hidden images while working as a volunteer at an archaeological excavation in Angkor Wat in 2010.

"I was walking through the temple on a lunch break and I saw some pigments on the wall," said Tan in a news release. "I took some pictures, but didn't think they would be anything special."

Tan was wrong. After enhancing the images on his computer, the paintings emerged, revealing long-lost artworks that could tell historians a bit more about life during a relatively unknown period of Cambodia's history.

"It was an amazing moment," said Tan in a news release. "I didn't expect the images would be so elaborate and detailed."

After studying the paintings a bit more closely, researchers determined that they probably came from the 16^th century reign of King Ang Chan, who commissioned a restoration of the temple to Theravada Buddhist use from a Vishnavaite Hindu temple. The paintings could give historians a closer look at what life was like during this early period.

The findings are published in the journal Antiquity.