Monks and villagers are trying to prevent the military police from digging the ancient site.Koh Santepheap newspaper
20th January, 2009
Reported in English by Khmerization
Svay Rieng province: Toul Trapeang Ang (Royal Pond Hill) is a thousand year old ancient man-made hill located in Romeas Haek district in Svay Rieng province. Recently it has been reportedly looted by police and military police from Romeas Haek district in search of valuables buried thousand of years on that hill.
It has been reported that at 7 o’clock at night time on the 16th of January, 2009, four officials from Romeas Haek district, including the chief of Sambath Meanchey district and local police chief with four military police officers, went to Toul Trapeang Ang to dig out to search for valuables but they were prevented by the villagers from doing so.
It’s been reported that, on Saturday 17th January, 2009 the above officials went to see the village chief and the hill’s curator by telling them that they got a permission from the higher authority to dig out the valuables from the hill to take them to a national museum. When they cannot produce a permission document and the fact that the digging were taken place at night time, the curator got suspicious. But those officials told the village chief and the curator that the works have to be done at night time so that the works do not alarm and attract the attention of the villagers.
Due to the objection from the villagers, the permission was not granted. But those officials retorted that, whether the permission is granted or not, they will still dig out the valuables from the hill because Toul Trapeang Ang is a state property, it does not belong to the villagers here. The officials said that they have the authority to dig the hill because they got the agreement of the commune chief, the local police chief and the local military police officers have also agreed. So everyone is warned not to obstruct the works.
At around 9 o’clock that night, the group has started digging the hill, with armed military police standing guard. About 100 local villagers stay watching them through the night until 1 am in the morning. After they dug out the hill two by two metres wide and one and a half metres deep, the group stopped and started to negotiate with the villagers for them to leave the site, but the villagers refused and they postponed their digging.
Mr. Tey Yeth, a 65 year old villager, said that Toul Trapeang Ang is about 100 metres by 100 metres in size and it was overgrown by bushes. To the east of the hill, there is a man-made pond of 80 metres by 60 metres wide, with the depth of 4 metres.
In the past, the area was densely forested and in 1960 only 10 families have settled there. In 1970, the place became a village when more people settled there and the hill was used as a vegetable garden by a 78 year old Mr. Keo Chorn and a 68 year old Mrs. Yu Soth who now resided at a temple in Phnom Penh and the hill, which is his vegetable garden, was tendered by his children.
In 1980, there was a group of people who came to dig out this hill in the middle of the night. In the morning, the villagers found a freshly dug out pit 2 metres wide and 3 metres deep and a lot of ancient pottery, ancient bricks and urns containing ancient human remains scattered inside and outside of the pit.
According to villagers, this hill was a burial site and is more than a thousand years old. The site is believed to have contained sacred objects and ancient valuables such as idols, urns containing remains of ancient heroes etc.
The digging around the site has been postponed for the time being due to objection from the villagers. The officials who ordered the digging used the pretext that they dig at night because they don’t want to alarm the villagers. They said that they want to dig out valuables to keep them in the national museum because they are worried that the hill will be looted by villagers.
Mr. Prum Phary, deputy director of the Provincial Heritage Office, said that, due to complaints from the village chief and from the villagers, he was asked by the director of Provincial Cultural and Fine Arts Centre to go to the area to see for himself. He has intervened and has asked that the digging be stopped immediately. Furthermore, he has instructed the village chief and the villagers to protect this hill and must report to the authority immediately should any group try to dig this hill again. At this time, the Provincial Cultural and Fine Arts Centre is asking the authority to punish those culprits who were involved in the digging of this ancient hill.//
20th January, 2009
Reported in English by Khmerization
Svay Rieng province: Toul Trapeang Ang (Royal Pond Hill) is a thousand year old ancient man-made hill located in Romeas Haek district in Svay Rieng province. Recently it has been reportedly looted by police and military police from Romeas Haek district in search of valuables buried thousand of years on that hill.
It has been reported that at 7 o’clock at night time on the 16th of January, 2009, four officials from Romeas Haek district, including the chief of Sambath Meanchey district and local police chief with four military police officers, went to Toul Trapeang Ang to dig out to search for valuables but they were prevented by the villagers from doing so.
It’s been reported that, on Saturday 17th January, 2009 the above officials went to see the village chief and the hill’s curator by telling them that they got a permission from the higher authority to dig out the valuables from the hill to take them to a national museum. When they cannot produce a permission document and the fact that the digging were taken place at night time, the curator got suspicious. But those officials told the village chief and the curator that the works have to be done at night time so that the works do not alarm and attract the attention of the villagers.
Due to the objection from the villagers, the permission was not granted. But those officials retorted that, whether the permission is granted or not, they will still dig out the valuables from the hill because Toul Trapeang Ang is a state property, it does not belong to the villagers here. The officials said that they have the authority to dig the hill because they got the agreement of the commune chief, the local police chief and the local military police officers have also agreed. So everyone is warned not to obstruct the works.
At around 9 o’clock that night, the group has started digging the hill, with armed military police standing guard. About 100 local villagers stay watching them through the night until 1 am in the morning. After they dug out the hill two by two metres wide and one and a half metres deep, the group stopped and started to negotiate with the villagers for them to leave the site, but the villagers refused and they postponed their digging.
Mr. Tey Yeth, a 65 year old villager, said that Toul Trapeang Ang is about 100 metres by 100 metres in size and it was overgrown by bushes. To the east of the hill, there is a man-made pond of 80 metres by 60 metres wide, with the depth of 4 metres.
In the past, the area was densely forested and in 1960 only 10 families have settled there. In 1970, the place became a village when more people settled there and the hill was used as a vegetable garden by a 78 year old Mr. Keo Chorn and a 68 year old Mrs. Yu Soth who now resided at a temple in Phnom Penh and the hill, which is his vegetable garden, was tendered by his children.
In 1980, there was a group of people who came to dig out this hill in the middle of the night. In the morning, the villagers found a freshly dug out pit 2 metres wide and 3 metres deep and a lot of ancient pottery, ancient bricks and urns containing ancient human remains scattered inside and outside of the pit.
According to villagers, this hill was a burial site and is more than a thousand years old. The site is believed to have contained sacred objects and ancient valuables such as idols, urns containing remains of ancient heroes etc.
The digging around the site has been postponed for the time being due to objection from the villagers. The officials who ordered the digging used the pretext that they dig at night because they don’t want to alarm the villagers. They said that they want to dig out valuables to keep them in the national museum because they are worried that the hill will be looted by villagers.
Mr. Prum Phary, deputy director of the Provincial Heritage Office, said that, due to complaints from the village chief and from the villagers, he was asked by the director of Provincial Cultural and Fine Arts Centre to go to the area to see for himself. He has intervened and has asked that the digging be stopped immediately. Furthermore, he has instructed the village chief and the villagers to protect this hill and must report to the authority immediately should any group try to dig this hill again. At this time, the Provincial Cultural and Fine Arts Centre is asking the authority to punish those culprits who were involved in the digging of this ancient hill.//
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