Siem Reap, 4 June: The APSARA Authority’s Department of Preservation of Prasat Krao and Angkor Park has completed the renovation of Ptei Temple. It is located in the middle of the baray of Beng Mealea Temple in Siem Reap. The renovation was carried out with the help of the private sector.

The APSARA Authority’s Deputy Director-General, Kim Sothin, says the restoration project was completed at the end of May, having taken about two months. It began with excavations to inspect the structure of the temple, before the restoration itself could begin. The Deputy Prime Minister’s wife, Mao Malay, helped fund the national heritage project.

The APSARA Authority says it was a challenging job, with the site in the middle of a forest baray and the access road extremely narrow. Mr. Sothin said the team did a great job though, especially given that the temple was practically a pile of stones before the project began.

Ptei Temple is located in Beng Mealea Village in the Svay Leu district of Siem Reap Province. It is 15 square metres and has a one metre-high perimeter wall. The centre of the Buddhist temple features a 6.5-metre high sandstone statue of a dragon and was probably built before the end of the 12th century.

 ^{Photo: APSARA Authority’s Department of Temple Preservation}