Posted 29 Oct 2009

A Cambodian temple that had to be dismantled in the 60s due to structural damage has almost been restored by architects, it has been reported.

In an area protected from the glare of visitors and press at Cambodia‘s famous Angkor temple complex, a team has been performing painstaking work to restore the 11th century building, reports AFP.

Baphuon Temple’s sandstone blocks were dismantled and laid aside in the grass when it was taken down, leaving around 300,000 bricks lying redundant.

However, the plans required to piece it back together were destroyed during the Khmer Rouge era, explains Pascal Royere of the French School of Asian Studies –the leader of the rebuilding team.

"We had to face a kind of jigsaw puzzle without the picture how to rebuild it," he told the news provider.

Earlier this year, concerns were raised by visitors to Angkor Wat that new plans to conduct night tours around the complex were damaging the temples.

This was following authorities’ decision to fit the ancient structures with lightbulbs.

Category: Asia