The Dinosaur of Ta Phrom

Carved mystery

The world famous Angkor Wat temples. Home to the stupendous Khmer empire. These temples were carved out of the jungle in the 12th and 13th centuries by Khmer devaraja, or god-kings. They still are the largest group of religious complexes ever created. And it’s huge, it’ll probably take weeks to get around the known parts, and there’s a lot more they say hidden in the jungle.

Amongst its vast treasures, there is one of the more intriguing details in arguably the most famous temple in the tour circuit -Ta Phrom. The temple to “Pita Brahma’ made famous by the huge banyan tree roots that have completely enveloped the walls from all sides.

There’s a secret not everyone knows.

In the far corner a small carving on a temple wall seems to show a dinosaur — a stegosaurus. This hand-sized carving is one of the most mysterious things in the complex.

Some say it’s recently carved and others say that the khmer knew about the dinosaurs. Some go on to say thats its a cow or a rhino with palm trees behind- the palms fronds probably mistaken for the dinosaurs scales.

No matter how you look at it the resemblance to a dinosaur is unmistakable and the answer is not so easy. Or is it?