Pottery, skeletons among ancient artefacts found in remote museum

• Published date: 09 March 2023
• Publication title: The Phnom Penh Post

Banteay Meanchey Museum has been open to local and international visitors and students for nearly 15 years. The museum displays ancient artefacts that were seized from smugglers at the Cambodian-Thai border or excavated from archaeological sites.

Cheng Vanna, deputy director of provincial Department of Culture and Fine Arts who is in charge of the museum, said the museum has received many ancient artefacts from members of the armed forces and provincial authorities who have seized looted artefacts since the late 1990s.

He added that a large portion of the artefacts were moved to the museum from other provinces after they were seized by police from traders. When it was determined that the origin of the artefacts had been Banteay Meanchey, they then handed the objects over to the department.

Established in 2009 in cooperation with the government and partner organisations, the museum exhibits four kinds of ancient artefacts - sandstone objects, ancient carcasses, ceramics and wooden objects. Students who want to study the objects can be provided with a lot of additional knowledge.

'If the students are real learners, they will acquire knowledge of design, history and Khmer arts,' Vanna said.

He continued that in general, they had visited the museum on school trips rather than in their leisure, but the students taking tours will be instructed on the styles of carving, ceramics and whatever is known about the ancient objects.

The majority of the ceramics were handed over by the military after they raided a warehouse where they discovered 800 ancient ceramic objects.

Sitting on a chair surrounded by clay-made objects and fractured objects that were reassembled, Oeun Nayki talks about the different pieces of pottery excavated at Sophy and Kouk Treas graveyards that date back to the Iron Age, between 500 BC and 500 AD.

A contract official, Nayki has been working at the museum since 2016 as a repairer of ceramics.

'These artefacts have been excavated and reassembled to be exhibited in glass cases for the public and students to see for more than 10 years now,' she said.

Ky Panharith, deputy bureau chief for museums, said the province has three museums: Banteay Meanchey Museum located in Serei Saophoan town; Svay Chek Museum on the compound of the Svay Chek district hall where 326 ceramic pieces are kept; and Tepkaosa Snay Museum in Preah Netr Preah district, with around 100 ceramic pieces that are not yet fully studied.

He noted that there are 2,211 objects - 1,141 pieces of...