A collection of Angkorian crown jewellery that was stolen and smuggled out of Cambodia has resurfaced in London, some dating back to the 7th century. It is believed that the stolen items belonged to British antiquities smuggler, the late Douglas Latchford, whose family had promised to return his stolen collection to Cambodia. Experts are stunned by the existence of the jewelry and have never seen most of it before. The collection, which contains 77 pieces of gold and jewel-encrusted jewelry including crowns, belts, and earrings, has been secretly returned to Cambodia’s capital, Phnom Penh and will be displayed in the national museum. Archeologists believe that the jewelry was looted from temples such as Angkor Wat during the Khmer Rouge era in the 1970s. Experts say it will take a long time for them to piece together where the newly discovered jewelry came from because the book contains so many half-truths. The Cambodian authorities believe that more Angkorian jewelry is yet to be found, as Latchford’s email correspondence revealed that he was attempting to secretly sell the collection from a north London warehouse as late as 2019.
