Siem Reap: The archeological team of the Department of Conservation of Monuments and Preventive Archaeology of the APSARA National Authority is excavating the foundations of the southern gate of Ta Prohm to study the condition of its foundation before starting restoration. The excavation is a collaboration between the APSARA National Authority and the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and will last three months, from mid-December 2023 to February 2024.

An archaeologist from the Department of Conservation of Monuments and Preventive Archaeology, Neth Simon, said the excavation at the Southern Gate of Ta Prohm Temple is primarily aimed at finding the stones of the lost structure. The team will also study the condition of the gate's foundation and learn about ancient techniques on how to prepare ancient foundations.

According to Net Simon, the first phase of the project revealed an 80cm deep pit and eight sandstones that were sculpted and could be identified as the stones above the pediment, and other parts of the gate. She confirmed that the excavation was done after the team removed the sandstone pile at the upper gate, which collapsed and covered the entire gate structure, hiding its original location.