Structural Issues at Phnom Bakheng

Phnom Bakheng has structural issues at several locations. These structures have collapsed due to forward leaning walls, movements, or shifts of the structure, and uncontrolled vegetation grows in between the walls and the bedrock. The walls were also subjected to water and soil induced deterioration of the laterite foundation and bedrock, and they couldn’t support the weight of the structure. Stone blocks that collapsed were buried in the ground at the base of the walls. We will have to work hard to monitor, document, and survey the structure in order to figure out a way to repair them.

I have worked for long time at Phnom Bakheng, and I am interested in these structural issues because my background is engineering. When I see structural issues I feel like I want to intervene and propose something for its repair and want to know why there is this problem, why it collapsed. I feel frightened and surprised when I see these dangerous conditions.