The governments of Cambodia and the United States are locked in a legal battle with the auction house Sotheby's over a thousand-year-old statue. The two governments say the statue was looted from a temple of the ancient Khmer empire. Sotheby's says this can't be proved, and a court in New York will decide on the matter soon.
The case could affect how collectors and museums acquire artifacts, and how governments recover lost national treasures.
The modern battle has its roots in an ancient power struggle. The statues come from Koh Ker in northern Cambodia's Preah Vihear province, along the border with Thailand.
In A.D. 921, with the Khmer empire in control of most of mainland Southeast Asia, a succession struggle broke out. King Jayavarman IV moved the imperial capital to Koh Ker, about 50 miles northeast of its traditional base at Angkor Wat.
The temple complex at Angkor Wat has become more famous among tourists, but the buildings at Koh Ker are older and bigger, and required tens of thousands of engineers and laborers to build.
Jayavarman IV died some two decades later. His successor moved the capital back to Angkor Wat, and the jungle swallowed Koh Ker. Trees toppled giant stone pillars, vines crept over carved floral decorations, and moss covered everything.
During Cambodia's three decades of civil war, the area was peppered with landmines, which were only cleared within the past decade. Now, the buildings are open to the public, though less heavily visited than Angkor Wat.
Matching Pedestals For The Statues
Behind the Prasat Chen temple at Koh Ker, Cambodian archaeologist Phin Samnang descends into a small pit and pulls away a plastic tarpaulin. He points to a group of stone blocks.
Enlarge Anthony Kuhn/NPR
King Jayavarman IV built this pyramid-shaped monument at the center of his capital at Koh Ker in northern Cambodia in the 10th century. The ruler of the Khmer empire died two decades later, and the capital was abandoned and swallowed by the jungle.