The bas-reliefs
of Bayon are precious works of art that convey the religious
beliefs and philosophy of the Khmer people. However, they
are surely and steadily disappearing. The Bayon Temple has
two square galleries, the inner and outer gallery, whose
stone walls have elaborate engravings depicting long epics.
The inner gallery is especially in danger of rapid deterioration,
such as delamination of stone surfaces and emergence of
cracks. The bas-reliefs in the gallery are suffering serious
damage caused by the complexly combined effects of various
factors, such as organisms growing on the surface of walls,
salt weathering, and seepage of rainwater from behind the
walls.
In this project, we are making comprehensive studies in
the conservation science, petrology and biology fields,
to develop methods for permanent conservation of the bas-reliefs.
This research project is being carried
out in cooperation with the “Study on Conservation
Methods for the Bas-Reliefs at Bayon Temple, Angkor”
(representative: Prof. Masaaki Sawada), a study subsidized
by the Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research of the Japanese
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.
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