Scenes from
the Ta Nei training program:
Interview
Lecture
Field study
Graduation
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A five-month training program at Ta Nei temple, financed
by the Japanese government, and implemented by a consortium
of three institutions, APSARA, ICCROM (International Centre
for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural
Property) and SPAFA (SEAMEO Regional Centre for Archaeology
and Fine Arts), with support from UNESCO, was begun in November
of 1999. The trainee group is composed of graduates in archaeology,
architecture, technology, administration and tourism.
The program choses its participants by examination from
a pool of applicants. The participants are graduates of
the Departments of Archaeology and Architecture of the Royal
University of Fine Arts, the National Institute of Management,
National Institute of Technology, Faculty of Law and Economics
and Maharishi Vedic University. This training program is
staffed with the help from international institutions such
as the University of Bologna (Italy), the University of
Cologne (Germany), the Kanazawa University (Japan), the
Japanese Government Team for the Safeguarding Angkor, the
Ecole Francaise d'Extreme Orient, SPAFA, and FSP (France).
By providing a solid general understanding of the site
and its management structures during the first month of
the program, followed by advanced training in increasingly
technical matters, the Ta Nei program aims to contribute
to the creation of a group of professionals capable not
only of implementing technically sound maintenance and conservation
work across the Park, but capable also, and most importantly,
of conceiving this work from a multi-disciplinary perspective.
Ta Nei temple was chosen as the training site for a variety
of reasons. Situated in an isolated area to the northeast
of Angkor Thom, the temple provides an ideal quiet setting
for training. The ruined state of the temple in a densely
forested setting also makes it an interesting case study
from multiple points of view, including architectural conservation,
stone treatment, vegetation control and archaeological research.
Physical facilities, including an open-air classroom, an
office and equipment storage area and latrines, have been
constructed on the site.
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