© EFEO (P. Royère, April 2012)
Under a Fund for Priority Cooperation established by the French Ministries of Foreign and European Affairs, of Culture and Communications, and of Higher Education and Research, the EFEO is now working in partnership with the APSARA National Authority to direct the restoration of the Western Mebon, a temple islet dating to the middle of the eleventh century. This project will become a study site for the training of conservation personnel in different specialties of national heritage conservation and the restauration of monuments. On April 12, 2012, the Mebon project got under way with diagnostic archaeological excavations - a preliminary to building dykes around the temple - as seen in the photograph.