SIEM REAP: The Apsara Authority plans to complete the excavation of the Prohm Kel temple structure in early February before preparing for its restoration.

After more than three months of excavation, the Apsara Authority found that the foundations of the temple towers had collapsed, causing the towers in the southwest to collapse.

Mr. Pheng Dara, an archaeologist at APSARA Authority, said that during the excavation work, the team excavated three different pits – the first one was to study the structure of the first gate to the temple related to the pond in the northeast, and the second pit was to study the structure of the library connected to the outer wall of the temple, while the third pit was to study the foundation of the temple tower.

The archaeologist added that the results of the excavation show that the foundation of the first gate and the foundation of the first wall, as well as the foundation of the library building, are still good, while the foundation of the temple tower seems to have collapsed, which is why the body of the tower on the southwest collapsed.

Prohm Kel is a small temple near Angkor Wat, about 300 meters west of the Angkor Wat gate. Archaeologists from the Apsara Authority have been conducting excavations since October 2021.