Restoring a Monument

8/13/2019 Restoring a Monument

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Restoring a jmonument

The ASI is restoring the Prohm

Buddhist temple complex In

Cambodia, which attracts hundreds

of tourists every day.

BY T.S. SUB RAMAN IAN RECENTLY IN SI EM REAP

Gigantic silk-cotton trees have taken

over the entire complex, splitting the

blocks of stones and uprooting the

galleries, causeways, shrines, and

so on. The corbelled roofs havecaved in and the gopuras look

pathetic with the stones dislodged.WH EN D.S. Sood stepped into the "Hall of j

Dancers" at Prohm, the Buddhist monastic tern- j

pie complex in Siem Reap province of Cambodia, in j

December 2004 he shuddered at the ruins he saw

before him. Sood, a Deputy Superintending Archae-

ological Engineer with the Archaeological Survey of

India (ASI), is a veteran of several challenging resto-ration projects in Sanchi, Khajuraho, Bhopal, Gwa-

lior and Mandu in India, and at Angkor Wat in j

Cambodia itself. But the devastation that he saw in j

the Hall of Dancers and other structures in

Prohm complex was too much for him.

The Prohm complex was built by the Khmer

king Jayavarman VII circa 1181. Originally called

"Rajavihara" (the royal temple), it comprised a sanc-

tum sanctorum and 39 other shrines topped with

vimanas (towers), galleries, causeways and entrance

gategopuras, among other structures. The king ded-

icated the complex to his mother, Rajachudamani.

CREEPERS ENTWINE THE silk-cotton tree to

form a trellis over a shrine at Proh m.


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(CLOCKWISE

FROM TOP, left)

The causeway in

the P rohm

complex, before,

during and after

its restoration.


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Siem Reap is the capital city of Siem Reap

province in north-western Cambodia, and is

the gateway to the Angkor region, which

served as the seat of the Khme r empir e.

The sanctum had an image of Pragnya

Paramita, the goddess of wisdom, and

it was installed in 1186 CE. The image

was modelled on the king's mother.

Two shrines in the third enclosure

were dedicated to Jayavarman VII's

guru and his brother. The Hall of

Dancers was Prohm's centrepiece,

with 48 pillars supporting its corbelled

roof. The pillars had exquisite carvings

of dancing apsaras, elephants, men as-

tride horses, floral motifs, and so on.

Its walls had niches with friezes of

Bodhisatvas and mythical animals.

"The Hall of Dancers was in total

ruins. We had no access to it," Sood

said, recalling his first foray into it.

"The ceiling had completely collapsed

and it was lying in pieces on the floor.

Most of the pillars were broken in two

or three pieces. The porches had caved

in," he added. There was chaos, with

architectural members, lintel beams

and broken pillars lying all around.

The entire structure was clogged withwater and there was a few feet of silt.

What was benumbing was that three

monstrously tall silk-cotton trees [Cei-

ba pentandra] had grown inside the

hall, dislodging its sandstone blocks,

driving cracks in the wall and heaving

up thefloor."The vegetation had pene-

trated the foundation and it was not

safe for tourists to go inside," he said,

as he displayed pictures of the ruins

taken in 2004.

Cut to June 24, 2012. "This is our

RESTORATION WORK GOING on at

the Hal l of Dance rs.

THAILAND LAOS

I VIETNAM^

C A M B O D h

VPhnom Penh


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THE HALL OF DANCERS before restoration work began. The ASI te am found

that the ceiling had completely collapsed, most of the pillars were broken in

two or three pieces and the porches had caved in.

plex. There were stunning sights sandstone blocks. In fact, 25 silk-cot-

everywhere. A -metre-tall silk-cotton trees, each more than 200 years

ton tree soared into the sky with its old and 30-40 metres tall, have taken

massive roots gripping avimana. The over the entire complex, splitting the

roots had formed a trellis over the blocks of stones and uprooting the gal-

carvings above the shrine 's doorway, leries, causeways, shrines, pillars, lin-

Thevimana was in a precarious posi- tel beams, and many other structures,

tion, with the tree having dislodged its The corbelled roofs have caved in and

work yard," Sood said softly and

showed a group of visiting Indians

how two broken pieces of a sandstone

pillar with elegant carvings had been

riveted together using steel pins by the

ASI team led by him. The visiting Indi-an team was led by T. Satyamurthy,

former Superintending Archaeologist,

ASI. The air buzzed with the noise of

small drilling machines boring holes

into broken sandstone blocks. Some

men were assiduously joining them to-

gether. The pillars were from the Hall

of Dancers. They bore numbers: obvi-

ously Sood and his team had docu-

mented them, knowing where they

would fit in. "If some pillars or archi-

tectural members are missing, we getthe sandstone blocks from the original

quarry in the Kulen mountains, about

35 km from here. In our restoration

and conservationefforts,we have used

only the original stones, and new

stones only occasionally when it was

totally necessary," said . . Ganju, Se-

nior Conservation Assistant, ASI.

"We are a team of five from the

ASI," said Sood.

Sood, Ganju, and E.P. Biswas and

H. Raghavendra, both senior draft-

smen of the ASI, led us inside the com-


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the entrance gategopuras look pathe t- tectural members using threaded steel

ic with the stone blocks dislodged from pins, epoxy and polymer is in progress,

their places. The transformation tha t the complex

Signs of vandalism are everywhere, has been undergoing is unbelievable.

Friezes of Bodhisatvas have been Sood said: "Documents were prepared

hacked away. Again, what would have to find out where the stones belonged

been a series of bas-reliefs of beautiful because entire structures had col-

Bodhisatvas on the wall of the gallery lapsed."

between the third and fourth enclo- The ASI documented every stone

sures have been chopped off. member layer by layer and grid by

Apar t from trees and vandalism, grid; measured every sandstone block

frequent shifting of the capital, and for its length, height and width; and

invasions and internalstrifeplayed ha- recorded their quality and orientation,

voc with Prohm, Bayon, Bantea The entire hall was photographed bit

Srei, Beng Mealea, Prasa t Kravan and by bit. Then the dismantling of the

other temple complexes in the prov- floor was done, the soil was treated

ince. "When the capital was shifted appropriately and sandstone blocks offrom Siem Reap, this area was neglect- the floor and the plinth were reset. The

ed and Prohm fell into ruins. Many original broken stones of the floors,

trees began to grow on its structures columns and roof were repaired and

causing their collapse. That is why joined with appropriate material and

Prohm is popularly called Tree Tem- threaded with steel pins. It was en-

ple," Ganju said. sured tha t all architectural members

Right now, restora tion is under achieved the desired structural

way in the hall. A tower crane is being strength before they were reassem-

used to lift and put aside the fallen bled.

architectural members afte r they are Raghavendra and Biswas assidu-

numbered and measured in situ. The ously prepared documentation draw-

lateri te apron along the plinth has al- ings of the plan, section and elevationready been exposed and strengthened, of the hall. "Then we prepared conser-

The join ing of broken pillars or archi- vation drawings wherein we num -

A SHRINE IN the firm "grip" of a

silk-cotton tree.

bered each and every stone before the

wall or roof was dismantled. All the

scattered stones were numbered,"

Raghavendra said.

"We started our restoration work

by the end of 2010. Our aim is to finish

it by 2014," Sood said. "The restoration

of the Hall of Dancers was the most

challenging task not only because of itsdilapidated state but because of the

gigantic trees that were posing a threat

to the structure . Besides, UNESCO de-

creed that the trees should not be cut

because it wants visitors to see the con-

tra-distinction between the right side

of the hall where the ASI would restore

the roof and the left side where the

trees would remain.

Despite its ruined state, Prohm

is the most visited temple complex in

Siem Reap. It attracts hundreds of

j tourists every day from all over the

world. Cameras click away endlessly as

tourists pose for pictures. When theTHE ENTRANCE GOPURA, before (facing page) and after restoration.


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branches of the trees sway, the struc- the inner core made of laterite blocks, skrit in Khmer script in the complex,

tures also move, making the tourists It was built in "Sarvato Bhadra" style, which conveys t hat a township of

gasp in astonishment. "Every day, that is, it had access from the four 12,460 people flourished between the

from 9 a.m. there are long queues of directions. Galleries and entrances four th and fifth enclosures. The com-

tourists to look at the trees growing had corbelled, vaulted roof. As Mi- plex had 19 Buddhist high priests. The

over thevimanas," Sood said. chael Freeman and Claude Jacques, in inscript ion says it had 500 kilograms

Prohm is concentric in plan. It their well-researched book entitled each of gold and silver, diamonds

has five rectangular enclosures and Ancient Angkor, explain, "...the device weighing 35 kg, and 4 ,600 pearls,

four entrances, one in each direction, known as corbelling was sufficient and When the ASI was restoring the Hall of

It is 1,150 m long and 663 m wide. The simple to execute with no need for Dancers in March this year, it found a

entire complex, including the com- scaffolding. Each higher stone course beau tiful golden crown under thepoundwalls,the entrancegopuras, the projects a little over the one below, floor. Sood argues that the Hall of

39 shrines, galleries, causeways, andso until the sides finally meet at the top." Dancers itself "was not a hall for danc-

on, was built of sandstone blocks, with There is a long inscription in San- ers but a place where the Buddhist

THE RUINED STATE of the gallery located between the third and fourth

enclosures before its restoration; (below) scaffolds erected for its

restoration; and (right) after the restoration was completed in 2010.


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monks sat in meditation". Prohm unique coexistence of trees and heri- ed the structures. The disadvantage is

suffered desecration a t the hands of tage". Prohm was "different fro m tha t if the single core is removed, then

Jayavarman VIII, who was a Hindu, the monumen ts in India because it has the entire structure will collapse."

During his reign, the carvings and a single core", he said. The complex UNESCO declared Angkor a

sculptures of the Buddha, Avalokitis- was buil t by piling stone blocks one World Heri tage Site in December

vara and others in the Buddhist pan- upon the other. No mor tar or binding 1992, and Angkor Wat, Prohm,

theon were systematically hacked or mater ial was used to cement them. So Prea Khan, Bayon, Beng Mealea and

destroyed in Prohm, Bayon, Prea when the trees grew over the structur- other complexes were recognised as

Khan, Bateay Kdei and other complexes, the roots could not grow deep into World Heritage Monumen ts. After an

es. the core of the structures because there inter-governmental conference in To-

Satyamurthy, who has restored was no masonry inside. Satyamurthy kyo in 1993, an Interna tional Coor-scores of ruined monuments in India, said: "The trees look like a mot her em- dinating Commit tee (ICC) was

described t he complex as "an out- bracing her child. The advantage is established to oversee the restoration

standing mon ume nt where there is tha t they have not completely uproot- work at Angkor. The committee meets


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several times a year in plenary and

technical sessions. On their part, the

Khmers themselves have established a

body, APSARA (Authority for the Pro-

tection of the Sites and Administrat ion

of the Region of Angkor).

The Government of India offered

to restore and conserve the Prohm

complex with its own funds. That is

how the ASI stepped into Prohm in

December 2004. A board in the com-

plex says,"Apartnership project of the

Archaeological Survey of India with

APSARA National Authority in coop-

eration with UNESCO...."

Sood said: 'When we first came

here, we analysed the temple, its struc-

ture and so on, and gave a report to theASI. More than 65 per cent of the com-

plex had collapsed. We studied the

monuments [structures], their beha-

viour, tendency, stability, how they

were built, the materials used in their

construction, why the structures col-

lapsed, what kind of conservation was

needed, the quantum of restoration

needed, etc. Generally, we preserve the

monuments and give support to the

structures. If some restoration is re-

quired, we do it. We want to conserveand restore. We do not want to add any

thing new."

After analysing the entire monu-

DETAILS OF A torana in the Prohm complex.

ment, the ASI decided that it would locations, where trees had grown on

restore five structures - the third en- the roof of the structures, were ident i-

closure gallery on the eastern side of fied for a support system. Nearly three

the south wing; the causeway connect- years of extensive documentat ion,

ing the third and four th enclosures on studies and analysis gave the ASI team

the west; par t of the Hall of Dancers; a tremendous insight into how "to re-the entrancegopura of the four th en- spect, conserve, and maintain the au-

closure on the western side; and the thent icity and integrity of the temple

entrance gategopura of the fifth enclo- complex".

sure on the west. Besides, nine critical The restoration work proper began

FROM LEF T, D. s. Sood, the ASI te am leade r; . . Ganju, senior conservation

assistant; and H. Raghavendra and E.P. Biswas, both senior draftsman, at

the Prohm complex.


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in 2007, with about 200 Cambodian

workers, including 20 skilled workers,

assisting the ASI team. Since the resto-

ration and conservation work is multi-

disciplinary in nature, the ASI took the

help of the Forest Research Institute

(FRI), Dehradun; Water and Power

Consultancy Service Limited (WAP-

COS), New Delhi; and the Indian In-

stitute of Technology Madras. The FRI

helped in conserving and maintaining

the trees.

WAPCOS did hydrological, drain-

age and ground-penetrating radar