SIEM REAP, CAMBODIA, December 9, 2004: It has been a case of once
bitten twice shy for the archaeologists working on the restoration
projects at the historic Angkor Wat temple complex here after the
Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) was criticized for its work a
decade ago. Aware of the flak the ASI received for making the Angkor
Wat look like a "new temple" after the renovation work, experts do not
want to leave any stone unturned in ensuring that the same does not
happen now. "We are very very alert this time," says A. C. Roy, Team
Member for restoration of Ta Prohm temple in the Angkor complex. Though
he did not elaborate on the precautions they would be taking to ensure
that the heritage look of the stones did not go away, Roy said that
everything would be done so that what happened last time is not
repeated.

Spread over a area of some 40 miles, the city of Angkor hosts a number
of temples dedicated to Lord Vishnu and Siva built between the 9th and
13th century. The most famous temple here is the Angkor Wat, regarded
as the supreme masterpiece of Khmer architecture built by Suryavarman
II between 1113 and 1150. The mass of bas-relief carving is of the
highest quality and the most beautifully executed in Angkor and find a
place in the Guinness Book of World Records. The Cambodian government
had given the restoration work of this famous monument to ASI, which
completed the work between 1986 and 1993.

~ From HPI