Stegosaurs roamed Europe and North America during the late Jurassic period, roughly 150 million years ago. Judging from a small carving in an Angkor temple, one or two may have spent some time in Cambodia, too — in the 12th century AD.
A carving on the wall of the Ta Prohm temple, built in the late 1100s, bears more than a passing resemblance to the round-backed dinosaur. Since a 1997 guidebook first pointed out the strange carving, creationists have held up the Ta Prohm dinosaur as proof that humans and stegosauruses once co-existed in Cambodia. There is even a replica of the carving on display at the Creation Evidence Museum in Glen Rose, Texas.
While the carved animal does seem to have a row of plates along its spine, it's not the most compelling argument for revising the prehistoric timeline. The bas relief could be a depiction of a rhino or chameleon, with the "plates" forming a stylized version of foliage. But the curious carving adds another element of intrigue to the gorgeously ruined Tomb Raider temple.
More dinos to discover:
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