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ATcheou Ta Kouan also described a big
lying Buddha in bronze having water coming out of his navel
that he located in the middle of the Oriental Baray. Today,
we know that he was wrong, because this big statue has been
found in the Occidental Baray and represents a lying Vishnu.
The discovery of this statue in 1936 is a very strange
story. A farmer near Angkor has dreamed that Buddha was
speaking to him complaining to suffer of the weight of
stones and earth covering him and asked him to come to a
precise place : the central flat-moulding of the Mebon
temple in the middle of the Occidental Baray. You must know
that all Cambodian are traditionally impregnated with
Buddhism and are generally devout. This is why their dreams
can be inspired by Buddha.
This farmer did break ground at the indicated place but then
a wild storm has broken out and the peasant, very afraid by
what he thought to be a celestial ran away. He told his
story with a trembling voice back in his village. This story
was rapidly reported to Maurice Glaize, the curator of
Angkor at that time and the statue, of about 6 meters long,
can now be seen at the National Museum of Phnom Penh.
It is probable that precious metal like gold or silver were
encrusted in the cavities marking the eyebrows and moustache
and that precious stones were encrusted in the eyes alveolus
of this exceptional statue, for sure one the biggest one in
bronze which were moulted in South East Asia.
Vaults
In a very early stage of their development, Middle East and
Mediterranean civilisations have invented and used the
semi-circular vault. Apparently it is also the case but to a
lesser extend in India and Burma. It is very strange that
ancient Cambodia were not interested in using this type of
vault which is relatively easy to build and to adapt to the
extent to the spaces to be covered.
Strange enough, it was also the case of the Mayas and Aztecs
at the same period as well as for Egyptian at any period. Is
it by (un)chance or is there an explanation ?
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