Ta Prohm temple's Hall of Dancers, under repair for the last 11 years, is scheduled to open to the public “soon”, according to the Apsara National Authority (ANA).
Sing Sood, conservation and restoration expert for the preservation and restoration of Ta Prohm temple, said that restoration work on the Hall of Dancers is “nearly completed” and that his team is currently working on final “small tasks”.
He said he expected that the conservation work on the temple, which is an India-Cambodia cooperative project that has been ongoing since 2011, will open to tourists in “about two months”.
The ANA described the site as originally being a pile of stone blocks that was “almost completely damaged”.
Together with the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), the ANA – a body tasked with managing the Angkor Archaeological Park – has been working on the study and removal of the stones in several phases, with the restoration work starting from the north end.
When the teams moved on to the southern part of the temple, and after consulting with experts from the International Coordinating Committee for Safeguarding and Development of the Historic Site of Angkor (ICC-Angkor), they decided that two large trees growing in the compound should remain to be kept for visitors to be able to witness the structure’s natural progression.
Sood said he was very proud that the renovation project had borne fruit, adding that he was pleased to share knowledge on both conservation and culture with the people. He noted the similarities between Khmer temples and cultures and civilisations found in India.
In addition to the Hall of Dancers, the ASI is also helping to renovate the southeast gate and several other sections of Ta Prohm temple in works scheduled to be completed by 2025.
Ta Prohm temple was built in the late 12th century during the reign of King Jayavarman VII. The Hall of Dancers was built by the King and dedicated to his mother.
