Tourists climb the wooden steps on the eastern side of the 11th century Baphuon monument in Siem Reap province, some 230 kilometers (143 miles) northwest the capital Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Thursday, June 8, 2006. Stone by stone, the Angkor-era temple is being reassembled to its past glory in a restoration attempt that began in 1960 and was halted for over three decades by the civil war before resuming in 1995. A section of the temple was open to the public for the first time in May. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith) 
Pascal Royere, an architect with the archaeological group Ecole Francaise dExtreme Orient, inspects restoration work on the 11th century Baphuon monument in Siem Reap province, some 230 kilometers (143 miles) northwest the capital Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Thursday, June 8, 2006. Stone by stone, the Angkor-era temple is being reassembled to its past glory in a restoration attempt that began in 1960 and was halted for over three decades by the civil war before resuming in 1995. A section of the temple was open to the public for the first time in May. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith) 
Ieng Tae, a 61-year-old Cambodian worker, measures a stone used for restoring the 11th century Baphuon monument in Siem Reap province, some 230 kilometers (143 miles) northwest of the capital Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Thursday, June 8, 2006. Stone by stone, the Angkor-era temple is being reassembled to its past glory in a restoration attempt that began in 1960 and was halted for over three decades by the civil war before resuming in 1995. A section of the temple was open to the public for the first time in May. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)
Cambodian workers hook a weighty stone to a crane as they try to restore the 11th century Baphuon monument in Siem Reap province, some 230 kilometers (143 miles) northwest of the capital Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Thursday, June 8, 2006. Stone by stone, the Angkor-era temple is being reassembled to its past glory in a restoration attempt that began in 1960 and was halted for over three decades by the civil war before resuming in 1995. A section of the temple was open to the public for the first time in May. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith) 
Cambodian workers carve stones as they work to restore the 11th century Baphuon monument in Siem Reap province, some 230 kilometers (143 miles) northwest the capital Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Thursday, June 8, 2006. Stone by stone, the Angkor-era temple is being reassembled to its past glory in a restoration attempt that began in 1960 and was halted for over three decades by the civil war before resuming in 1995. A section of the temple was open to the public for the first time in May. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith) By Associated Press
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
SIEM REAP, Cambodia - Under a sweltering sun, masons struggle to slip a 440-pound stone into place atop an ancient temple that for decades has looked more like a giant jigsaw puzzle than one of the Angkor era’s finest monuments.
It is an understatement to say restoring the 11th century Baphuon temple takes time.
An initial attempt to refurbish the monument, one of the oldest and largest temples at the famed Angkor complex, started in 1960. But work stopped a decade later as Cambodia slid into a long civil war, and during the Khmer Rouge regime all the reconstruction plans were destroyed.
Work resumed 11 years ago and, now, for the first time, one section - known as the eastern pavilion - has opened to the public. A team of French archaeologists, funded by the French government, hopes to complete the $5.7 million project in 2009.
“Somehow, I’m surprised to see Baphuon temple now coming back to life,” said Ieng Tae, 61, a worker who says getting one stone in place can take days. He is one of 185 Cambodians working with the archaeological group Ecole Francaise d’Extreme Orient, or EFEO.
The temple, a three-tiered, pyramid-shaped monument, was built in 1060 during the reign of King Udayadityavarman II and is known for its rich narrative reliefs dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva.
Rising 165 feet high and stretching about 395 feet across, Baphuon is considered a masterpiece of the Khmer empire. It is nearly 2 miles northeast of Angkor Wat, the main cultural attraction that draws in millions of tourist dollars a year for the cash-strapped country.
Unlike Angkor Wat, which rests on solid ground, Baphuon was built on a hill of sandy soil that gradually weakened over time and caused the structure to crumble.
“The sand lost its own capacity of stability and increased the pushing against the walls. At one point the monument started to collapse,” said Pascale Royere, the EFFO architect leading the restoration.
Thousands of stone pieces are scattered across the ground as experts work to piece Baphuon back together.
EFFO started working on Baphuon in 1960 by first dismantling it to strengthen the embankment against water penetration.
Over the next 10 years, workers were able to reinforce two of the monument’s three tiers before having to desert the site as Cambodians began a series of civil wars that stretched into the 1990s.
After taking power in 1975, the Khmer Rouge looted the EFEO office in Phnom Penh and destroyed all the records, which included detailed plans for the monument’s reconstruction.
Royere said EFEO felt a “moral duty” to return and finish the job.
When workers returned to the site in 1995, their first task was to identify some 300,000 stones scattered across 25 acres of overgrown land. Next, they had to figure out what to do with them.
“We found some pictures of the monument from 1908 to 1970 that were taken before its dismantling,” Royere said. EFEO also is relying on the memories of workers who toiled on the project decades ago.
If an original stone cannot be found, a new slab is brought in from Phnom Kulen, a sacred mountain 35 miles away that supplies the stones for the Angkor temples. Workers carve the new stone to give it “the original aspect of carvings” of the temple, Royere said.
Ieng Tae, who worked on the temple’s restoration in 1970, recalled a sunken feeling when war halted the project. He said he had stopped thinking about the temple until about a decade ago, while plowing his rice field, a neighbor told him that EFEO was looking for him.
“I felt like I was reborn,” Ieng Tae said, recalling that the neighbor told him: “You must go back because you are familiar with the stones.”
Workers can spend several weeks searching the plain of stones for the specific one they need to fill a hole in the temple.
“It is tedious work, fitting a stone, removing it, carving it and fitting it again,” Ieng Tae said, but he marvels at the progress that has been made in a decade. “I never thought this temple could have gotten back into such good shape.”
Royere said he hopes a second wing of the temple will be completed and opened to visitors around year’s end.
“We had to wait 30 years to try to reassemble it. We have to be patient,” he said. “But everybody can be proud of what has been done so far.”
It is an understatement to say restoring the 11th century Baphuon temple takes time.
An initial attempt to refurbish the monument, one of the oldest and largest temples at the famed Angkor complex, started in 1960. But work stopped a decade later as Cambodia slid into a long civil war, and during the Khmer Rouge regime all the reconstruction plans were destroyed.
Work resumed 11 years ago and, now, for the first time, one section - known as the eastern pavilion - has opened to the public. A team of French archaeologists, funded by the French government, hopes to complete the $5.7 million project in 2009.
“Somehow, I’m surprised to see Baphuon temple now coming back to life,” said Ieng Tae, 61, a worker who says getting one stone in place can take days. He is one of 185 Cambodians working with the archaeological group Ecole Francaise d’Extreme Orient, or EFEO.
The temple, a three-tiered, pyramid-shaped monument, was built in 1060 during the reign of King Udayadityavarman II and is known for its rich narrative reliefs dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva.
Rising 165 feet high and stretching about 395 feet across, Baphuon is considered a masterpiece of the Khmer empire. It is nearly 2 miles northeast of Angkor Wat, the main cultural attraction that draws in millions of tourist dollars a year for the cash-strapped country.
Unlike Angkor Wat, which rests on solid ground, Baphuon was built on a hill of sandy soil that gradually weakened over time and caused the structure to crumble.
“The sand lost its own capacity of stability and increased the pushing against the walls. At one point the monument started to collapse,” said Pascale Royere, the EFFO architect leading the restoration.
Thousands of stone pieces are scattered across the ground as experts work to piece Baphuon back together.
EFFO started working on Baphuon in 1960 by first dismantling it to strengthen the embankment against water penetration.
Over the next 10 years, workers were able to reinforce two of the monument’s three tiers before having to desert the site as Cambodians began a series of civil wars that stretched into the 1990s.
After taking power in 1975, the Khmer Rouge looted the EFEO office in Phnom Penh and destroyed all the records, which included detailed plans for the monument’s reconstruction.
Royere said EFEO felt a “moral duty” to return and finish the job.
When workers returned to the site in 1995, their first task was to identify some 300,000 stones scattered across 25 acres of overgrown land. Next, they had to figure out what to do with them.
“We found some pictures of the monument from 1908 to 1970 that were taken before its dismantling,” Royere said. EFEO also is relying on the memories of workers who toiled on the project decades ago.
If an original stone cannot be found, a new slab is brought in from Phnom Kulen, a sacred mountain 35 miles away that supplies the stones for the Angkor temples. Workers carve the new stone to give it “the original aspect of carvings” of the temple, Royere said.
Ieng Tae, who worked on the temple’s restoration in 1970, recalled a sunken feeling when war halted the project. He said he had stopped thinking about the temple until about a decade ago, while plowing his rice field, a neighbor told him that EFEO was looking for him.
“I felt like I was reborn,” Ieng Tae said, recalling that the neighbor told him: “You must go back because you are familiar with the stones.”
Workers can spend several weeks searching the plain of stones for the specific one they need to fill a hole in the temple.
“It is tedious work, fitting a stone, removing it, carving it and fitting it again,” Ieng Tae said, but he marvels at the progress that has been made in a decade. “I never thought this temple could have gotten back into such good shape.”
Royere said he hopes a second wing of the temple will be completed and opened to visitors around year’s end.
“We had to wait 30 years to try to reassemble it. We have to be patient,” he said. “But everybody can be proud of what has been done so far.”
2 comments:
The French allowed the freedom of the mind of their citizen to work wonder and why can AH HUN SEN do the same with Cambodian people?
Because he can only function, if other tell him what to do. All communist people are like that. They just freeze themself up. They can not think, act or do anything on their own.
They have no faith, trust or belief for themself to do any thing meaningful or worth anything. Zero!
Their mental states are control by fear and shame. They have never been taught or encouraged to be self-respect, self-worth or know the real meaning of life.
The French are different. Poeple are much more educated in the opposit way.
Over a long period of time, the communist people are used to it or used to their Master and that is too bad for us. We have to put up with such people or do something about it.It's our choise.
Post a Comment