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The NationalResearch Institute of Cultural Heritage (NRICH, Director General, JI, Byong Mok)under the Cultural Heritage Administration (CHA) of Korea published a report, 『Conservationand Restoration of Khmer Stone Cultural Heritage in Cambodia』. Thisreport includes research achievements which was conducted jointly by Korea andCambodia. NRICH diagnosed the stone cultural heritage in need of conservationtreatment among Khmer cultural heritage in Cambodia by applying Korean conservationtechnology. The joint research partner, Angkor Conservation Office (ACO) in theDepartment of Safeguarding and Preservation of Monuments under the Ministry ofCulture and Fine Arts in Cambodia carried out repair and restoration based on results of the analysis byNRICH.

NRICH has been investigating and developing technologysuch as the conservation treatment and non-destructive diagnosis on surfaceconditions of stone cultural heritage for years.^* Such technology has been applied to identifyingmaterial properties and diagnosing quantitative surface weathering of stonecultural heritage in Korea. NRICH has been providing the policy data for effectiveconservation of stone cultural heritage and going through the process of applyingand verifying the conservation technology internationally to disseminate it allover the world.

* [NRICH YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/8pCR7v4OMlM]

This is thefirst case demonstrating that the conservation technology which had beendeveloped by NRICH was applied to overseas cultural heritage. This reportincludes the current state of conservation and history, scientific analysis,technical suggestions for stone statues in the collection of ACO, NokorbacheyTemple, Banteay Chhmar which were investigated from 2016 to 2020 by NRICH. Inaddition, it elaborates on the research results from various non-destructiveanalyses such as the magnetic susceptibility measurement^*, deterioration mapping, ultrasonicmeasurement of physical properties^**, infrared thermography analysisand hyperspectral image analysis^***. Those results are expected to be applied toeffective conservation and maintenance of stone cultural heritage in Cambodiaand utilized as the beneficial data by institutes in the field ofconservation science and researchers who are engaged in conservation.

* Magneticsusceptibility: Identifying magnetization intensity of stone materials with theindex, which is utilized for interpretations on production areas of rock constructingstone cultural heritage 

* Ultrasonic measurementof physical properties: Calculating physical properties and weathering degrees ofrock by the difference of ultrasonic velocities

* Hyperspectral imageanalysis: As distinct from a regular camera, analyzing specific materials orobjects by dividing the spectrum of light into a wide range of wavelengths

National Research Institute of CulturalHeritage under the Cultural Heritage Administration is planning to provide itsconservation technology to other countries such as Myanmar and Mongolia in theyears to come. Furthermore, we will consistently offer the data andinformation to be helpfully utilized for the conservation and analysis ofcultural heritage for each country.   

This report was published by Lottery Fund,CHA (Cultural Heritage Protection Fund), its original text is open to thepublic on the portal site run by NRICH for research knowledge of culturalheritage (https://portal.nrich.go.kr, accessto research publications on conservation/restoration).

Attachment: Book Cover of 『Conservationand Restoration of Khmer Stone Cultural Heritage in Cambodia』