Preventive excavation Team

In the team has Archaeologists specialist working and responsible for the following tasks:

• Undertaking preventive excavation based on the excavation program. Preventive excavation means to preserve and to conserve the Angkor heritage, therefore the preventive excavation must be done before any new construction work is carried out in the Angkor Park. Another point in its favour is to avoid the destruction and loss any archaeological data from the site. Through this excavation we can find out more about of the social lives in ancient times.

• The preventive excavation conducted by archaeological teams is the best way to evaluate the archaeological potentials that are involved with the development areas, to facilitate the archaeological team, to find out a solution to rescue the ancient site. This is due to ancient infrastructure can not be destroyed, as it is protected by technical specialists.

• Responding to urgent requests for archaeological examination in the Angkor Park and throughout the province of Siemreap and protecting cultural heritage (ancient mounds, ponds, roads, dikes and kiln sites) from acts of vandalism and negative effects of the settlement by the local residents.

If you want to know more about activities of the Preventive excavation from 2000 to 2004, please click here

Preventive excavation in the project of development in the Southern Pond of Angkor Wat 20 April, 2005 - 28 June, 2005

The South-pond rehabilitation project was made by the Department of Monument and archaeology 1. It was carried out with the aim of evaluation and to enhance Angkor Wat surrounding. This Preventive excavation work included:

1. Surface collection: we found some Chinese ceramics.
2. We drew the Topographical Map of the site.
3. We conducted the excavation by opening a long trench (66m x 1,20m and 3,80m depth) across the pond from south to north to find out how we could proceed with the rehabilitation. During the excavation we found at least two different states of the pond:

• 1st step: we found the pond bank made of compacted laterite and wooden bar to support the bank.
• 2nd step: we found Khmer and Chinese potsherds.
• 3rd step: Pond's laterite step was found.

Three archaeologists: SRUN Tech, NORNG Boravy and AN Sopheap were in charge of this excavation.

Preventive excavation in the project of the restoration of Bat Chum temple.

The international Co-ordination Committee (ICC) for the historical site of Siem Reap, Angkor region held on 9-10 February, 2004 took place at Angkor Century Hotel. There were many subjects to be demonstrated at the meeting. The intervention of Bat Chum temple by the director of the Department of Monument and Archaeology, APSARA Authority. The experts of ICC visited the site and they agreed that Bat Chum was to be classified into the account of the priority Urgent list. Then the Co-operation between FSP (French government program) and Department of Monument and Archaeology 1 (the Maintenance Unit and Archaeological Unit) began working together at the site.

So this is the 1st restoration project done by APSARA Authority and financed by the ACCOR Company through UNESCO.

The goals of excavation:

• To study the foundation that led to the mount.
• To do research on the foundation
• To stop bricks from falling
• To restore the North tower
• To enhance the site

Archaeological work: the fist archaeological survey on the site we decided to divide into 2 phases.

  1-Phase 1: (date from February-May, 2004)

• To conduct a test pit inside the interior central tower in order to observe inner foundation.
• To remove some laterite blocks at the upper terrace outside the central tower in the N-E in order to observe outer foundation.
• To remove the accumulated piles of soil surrounding the temple basement in order to observe the condition of conservation of the terrace.

  2- Phase 2: (date from January-June, 2005)

• To conduct along excavation trench (30m x 1,50m and 3,50m depth) at the south of temple (from the basement to the moat) in order to get information about lower terrace foundation and observe the platform stratigraphy.

Two archaeologists: Net Simon and Hou Nolamony were in charge of this excavation.