A major restoration project at an ancient Khmer archaeological site in Surin Province, Thailand, has yielded an extraordinary find. While stabilizing the foundation of a 12th-century Bayon-style shrine, conservationists uncovered a buried sandstone lintel depicting the Churning of the Ocean of Milk. The artifact is praised for its exceptional craftsmanship, featuring sharp details of the devas and asuras that have eluded the erosion seen on surface-level carvings at the site.
The project, a collaboration between the Thai Fine Arts Department and international heritage experts, aims to reinforce the structural integrity of the laterite temple using traditional lime mortars. The discovery of the lintel suggests that the shrine may have undergone a significant redesign during the reign of Jayavarman VII, transitioning from a Hindu-centric site to a Mahayana Buddhist sanctuary. This finding provides new insights into the spiritual shifts within the peripheral territories of the Khmer Empire.