Here's some GOOD news (for a change) from Cambodia. I'm very interested in this news story because I visited the Angkor Archaeological Zone in Cambodia in 2002.


Reassembling ancient Cambodian temple was huge jigsaw puzzle

Last Updated Fri, 05 May 2006 14:23:08 EDT
CBC Arts

Parts of an ancient Cambodian temple have reopened to the public after archaeologists spent years piecing it together.

The Baphuon, dating from 1050-1066 AD, is part of the huge Angkor complex, the cradle of a sophisticated Khmer kingdom that once dominated the region.
The Baphuon was a Hindu and later a Buddhist temple, erected in the shape of a huge golden mountain.

Its beautiful bas-relief carvings are scenes from the Mahabharata and the Ramayana, the Hindu world's most significant stories.

But the designers built it on sandy soil and it collapsed in the centuries after the decline of the old Khmer kingdom.

French archaelogists have been working on the site since the 1880s, when the temples and ruins of the ancient city near Siem Reap, Cambodia, were rediscovered.

The Ecole Française d'Extrème-Orient has been restoring temples in the Angkor area since 1908.

But in the 1970s, as the Khmer Rouge took control of Cambodia, only the first tier of the enormous Baphuon had been restored. The rest of the temple, partly dismantled so it could be reinforced, was in 300,000 numbered pieces scattered in the jungle.

The French were driven from Cambodia in 1975 and the numbering system for restoring the temple was destroyed by the Khmer Rouge, who killed thousands of people in a civil war that tore apart the country.

When archaeologists were allowed back into the country in 1995, they were faced with a huge jigsaw puzzle.

The team has been painstakingly reassembling the pieces, relying on computer models and their own judgment, ever since.

"The main difficulty with this temple was that it was abandoned and dismantled without anyone having an original photo," said Pascal Royère, the chief architect of the restoration.

About 900 photos of details of the original had been taken by architects since 1908, but the main plan was missing and the only overall image was a painting.
"The temple was closed and we can only now allow a little access to the public," he told Agence France-Presse.

Royère estimates it will be another two years before the temple is completely restored. Tourists can now observe restoration work and see part of the face of the building.

"Our objective is to slowly allow increased access for the public," he said.
The project has been funded by France and cost in excess of $37 million. Cambodia is one of Asia's poorest nations and relies on tourism revenue from visitors to Angkor.

The Baphuon was built by King Utyadityavarman II and dedicated to the god Vishnu. It had a copper roof and was shaped like a sacred mountain. In the 15th century, it was rebuilt as a Buddhist temple, before falling into disrepair.
Only Angkor Wat, built a century later, surpassed the Baphuon in beauty and size. Angkor Wat is the main attraction for the thousands of tourists who visit the region.