KBAL SPEAN
Kbal Spean or the River of a Thousand Lingas, discovered in 1968, Shiva's linga was reproduced in the riverbed
Kbal Spean, or "The River of a Thousand Lingas," was discovered in 1968 by Mr. Jean Boulbet, an eminent member of Efeo who was then living in Siem Reap. The site was magnificent at the time: set in a setting of primary forest, a river, cut by waterfalls, flowed over a sandstone bed covered with countless sculptures. The linga of Shiva was endlessly reproduced in the river bed, Vishnu sleeping on the naga adorned the waterfalls, frogs, bulls, a large lizard, unknown gods, inscriptions in Sanskrit... all sculpted by monks who lived there centuries before. The site became inaccessible because of the civil war, then the occupation by the military. But in 1998, Jean Boulbet, old but still valiant, could finally return to his river. Unfortunately, the archaeological site of Kbal Spean had been vandalized by the military who had occupied and looted the area. "One should never return to the place of one's youth," Boulbet said in dismay. In fact, the majestic forest he had known thirty years earlier no longer existed and some of the sculptures had been sacrificed with chisels..
For us, who did not know the site in all the splendor of its virginity, the excursion to Kbal Spean remained a magic and unforgettable moment. Unfortunately, in 2003, vandals came to ransack the site with chisels... The most beautiful Vishnu and his wife had their heads destroyed and a number of other bas-reliefs were hammered.
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