Two farmers in Svay Chek commune of Banteay Meanchey province’s Svay Chek district found many pieces of artefacts while ploughing their farms near Ta Srey temple and handed them over to the local authorities for preservation.

The antiquities include two moulds for producing statues, two bells, nine bangles, a female angel statue, a male angle statue, two statues of Buddha sitting on a Naga throne and 10 pieces of lead.

Svay Chek district governor Loeung Sopheak told The Post on June 11 that after the district administration received the antiquities, they referred them to officials in charge of preservation.

Sopheak thanked the farmers for providing the artifacts to the authorities to prevent them from falling into the hands of smugglers.

“I ... have given the pieces to officials at the provincial Department of Culture and Fine Art so that they can preserve them according to technical standards,” Sopheak said.

He said the two farmers were ploughing their farms with a tractor to grow cassava when they found a big jar.

Yong Taing Kuoy, director of the provincial culture department, said on June 11 that the antiquities were presumably made between the 10th and 11th century.