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The National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage (NRICH, Director General, JI, Byong Mok) under the Cultural Heritage Administration (CHA) of Korea published a report, 『Conservation and Restoration of Khmer Stone Cultural Heritage in Cambodia』. This report includes research achievements which was conducted jointly by Korea and Cambodia. NRICH diagnosed the stone cultural heritage in need of conservation treatment among Khmer cultural heritage in Cambodia by applying Korean conservation technology. The joint research partner, Angkor Conservation Office (ACO) in the Department of Safeguarding and Preservation of Monuments under the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts in Cambodia carried out repair and restoration based on results of the analysis by NRICH.

NRICH has been investigating and developing technology such as the conservation treatment and non-destructive diagnosis on surface conditions of stone cultural heritage for years.^* Such technology has been applied to identifying material properties and diagnosing quantitative surface weathering of stone cultural heritage in Korea. NRICH has been providing the policy data for effective conservation of stone cultural heritage and going through the process of applying and verifying the conservation technology internationally to disseminate it all over the world.

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

This is the first case demonstrating that the conservation technology which had been developed by NRICH was applied to overseas cultural heritage. This report includes the current state of conservation and history, scientific analysis, technical suggestions for stone statues in the collection of ACO, Nokorbachey Temple, Banteay Chhmar which were investigated from 2016 to 2020 by NRICH. In addition, it elaborates on the research results from various non-destructive analyses such as the magnetic susceptibility measurement^*, deterioration mapping, ultrasonic measurement of physical properties^**, infrared thermography analysis and hyperspectral image analysis^***. Those results are expected to be applied to effective conservation and maintenance of stone cultural heritage in Cambodia and utilized as the beneficial data by institutes in the field of conservation science and researchers who are engaged in conservation.

* Magnetic susceptibility: Identifying magnetization intensity of stone materials with the index, which is utilized for interpretations on production areas of rock constructing stone cultural heritage 

* Ultrasonic measurement of physical properties: Calculating physical properties and weathering degrees of rock by the difference of ultrasonic velocities

* Hyperspectral image analysis: As distinct from a regular camera, analyzing specific materials or objects by dividing the spectrum of light into a wide range of wavelengths

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

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

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