'Returning Spirits to Their Original Sites': Deity Heads Reattached at Angkor Thom's Victory Gate

PHNOM PENH — Oct. 2, 2026: The APSARA National Authority has reattached the heads of two deity statues at the Victory Gate of Angkor Thom, in a ceremony that returns a piece of Cambodia's cultural memory to where it belongs.

The ceremony, held on the morning of Oct. 1, 2026, was part of the "Returning Spirits to Their Original Sites" campaign and was presided over by H.E. Dr. Phoeurng Sackona, Minister of Culture and Fine Arts and President of the Board of the APSARA National Authority.

Among those attending were Samdech Preah Brahma Rattanamony Sereysovano Pin Sem; Mr. Flavio Bonetti, UNESCO Representative to Cambodia; Ms. Katherine Diop, Public Affairs Officer at the U.S. Embassy; senior officials from the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts; representatives of the Siem Reap Provincial Administration; and APSARA leadership.

In her remarks, H.E. Dr. Phoeurng Sackona explained that the Victory Gate was an important ceremonial site where Khmer kings conducted major royal ceremonies, including coronation rituals and departures for military campaigns. Restoring the deity and asura sculptures, she said, not only enhances the site's beauty but restores an important part of Cambodia's cultural heritage for future generations and visitors.

A total of 108 devas and asuras, representing the Churning of the Ocean of Milk, line the approach to the Victory Gate. Over the centuries, particularly during periods of conflict, many of their sandstone heads were lost and scattered across Cambodia and abroad.

Through long-standing cooperation between the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts, the APSARA National Authority and international partners — including UNESCO, France, Japan and the United States — many missing heads have been recovered. Some were unearthed through archaeological excavation, others retrieved from the Angkor Conservation Office, museums, or repatriated from abroad following formal requests.

Almost all of the missing heads have now been recovered. Only three remain in museums abroad, and efforts continue to bring them home.

Mr. Flavio Bonetti of UNESCO described the ceremony as an important act of respect for Khmer culture and its World Heritage significance, noting UNESCO's support through ICC-Angkor since 1993 and more than three decades of work with APSARA.

Ms. Katherine Diop of the U.S. Embassy highlighted long-standing Cambodia-U.S. cooperation on cultural heritage, noting that approximately 900 artifacts have been repatriated under the Memorandum of Understanding on cultural property.

The campaign, the Ministry said, reflects Cambodia's peaceful and secure environment, which allows heritage custodians to reunite these sculptures with their original locations.

Source: APSARA National Authority

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Reported by The Khmer Today