The Ministry of Environment is producing a video to promote rock paintings found in a prehistoric cave located in the Central Cardamom National Park in Pursat province, which is scheduled for completion on June 26-27. Archaeologists claim the cave is thousands of years old with paintings similar to ones found in Egypt.

Sok Sopheap, the report producer from the ministry, said the video is less than 10 minutes long and included footage of the cave site taken by drones, the ancient paintings, flora and fauna. The video aims to attract tourists.

“We want to advertise [the cave] to attract visitors, especially after the Covid-19 crisis. The broadcast will also help to protect the cave and improve the livelihoods of people in the area and reduce deforestation, which is a crime,” he said.

Lim Vanchan, office head at the heritage area department under the ministry’s General Department of Local Communities, said the cave paintings were old but he could not yet conclude how old they were. Determining the age must involve technicians and scientific research.

Vanchan said promotion of the cave may draw enough interest for researchers to visit the cave and study the paintings.

Rock paintings found in a prehistoric cave located in the Central Cardamom National Park in Pursat province. Environment Ministry

“The paintings are ancient . . . Technically such images date back more than 3,000 years. We will not know for sure unless there is a clear study, because we need to do data analysis, not just look at the pictures,” he said.

Vanchan continued that the paintings were made using red paint and etchings to give a physical appearance. Most importantly, there are pictures of wildlife such as elephants, deer and wild boar.

He noted that the paintings in this cave are not very clear, but it is a highlight of the park that reveals the lives of ancient people who knew how to use elephants and lived with wildlife in the area.

Vanchan, himself an archaeologist, hopes that the cave will encourage researchers of prehistory to study the age of the paintings. He also hopes the cave can attract tourists who like to relax within the protected area and are looking for different places to enjoy as well.