Ideally, the exquisite 11th century Khmer temple of Preah Vihear should belong to the whole world—but then there’s messy geopolitical reality. A decades-long struggle between Thailand and Cambodia over ownership of the remote temple was reignited in July, when UNESCO named Preah Vihear a World Heritage Site. Following the listing, both countries began massing troops around the temple, and in October, the two sides clashed, leaving at least two soldiers dead and several more wounded. According to Time magazine, there was another near-casaulty of that skirmish: an ancient stone naga (serpent) figure narrowly escaped a grenade.
