27TS.6 23PS

 

6. Angkor Wat: West Embankment:

The ad hoc group of experts for conservation recommends:

6.1. As the embedded concrete pipe is not strong enough to bear the heavy layers of laterite, a concrete arch covering the pipe should be constructed to so that the laterite layers are rested on a solid, flat base.

6.2. It was noted that some laterite blocks laid during a recent restoration operation supported by UNESCO/ITALIAN Funds-in-Trust, partially funded by the APSARA National Authority and operated by IGeS, are quite unstable and on the verge of collapsing into the moat. All the blocks from the top down to the bottom of this section, notably the shifting blocks, should be re-dismantled.

Then, the embankment is to be reconstructed following to a large extent the method used earlier by IGeS. The connection between the IGeS-restored section and the APSARA National Authority-restored section should be carefully implemented, based on the previously used technique, under the supervision of the relevant department of the APSARA National Authority. The approach chosen to connect those two sections, with the overlapping, is to be submitted as soon as possible to the ad hoc experts for advisement.