Local Artisans Lead Restoration Efforts at Angkor’s Ta Prohm

via Khmer Times, 29 March 2024: Residents of Angkor, embodying the role of guardians and protectors, are integral to the preservation of the historic temples within the Angkor Archaeological Park. Skilled workers like 32-year-old Prean Do and 58-year-old Top Tang are dedicated to meticulous tasks such as finding and reassembling fallen stones, particularly at the restoration site of Ta Prohm’s South Gate. These efforts are not only about maintaining the physical structures but also about preserving the temple’s original aesthetics. Many of these artisans come from families that have contributed to Angkor’s restoration for generations, ensuring the transfer of invaluable knowledge and skills to safeguard this heritage for the future.

To this day, the Angkor residents continue to play an important role as guardians and protectors of Angkor by participating in the restoration of ancient temples and becoming skilled workers in various fields such as stone carving, stone assembling, and stone searching.

32-year-old Prean Do and 58-year-old Top Tang, among many skilled workers, are fulfilling their roles as finders of fallen stones moving from their original location at Ta Prohm’s Southern Gate restoration site, which collapsed almost completely and took a long time to restore.

Prean Do said that at the restoration site of the South Gate of Ta Prohm, two workers were searching for the fallen stones different from the original location to reassemble, which was very difficult due to the number of broken and scattered stones at this gate. The search for fallen stones was based on the subsequent search for stones in the cascades. Do stated that among the stones that were easy to find were carved stones.

Source: Angkor residents play an important role as guardians and protectors of Angkor – Khmer Times