A staff member works at the restoration site of a Bakong temple's tower in Siem Reap province, Cambodia, on July 10, 2026. Archaeologists are restoring the millennium-old brick towers of Bakong temple in Cambodia's Angkor Archaeological Park, the APSARA National Authority (ANA) said on Tuesday. (Photos: ANA/Handout via Xinhua)

PHNOM PENH, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Archaeologists are restoring the millennium-old brick towers of Bakong temple in Cambodia's Angkor Archaeological Park, the APSARA National Authority (ANA) said on Tuesday.

Saray Kimhual, head of the ANA restoration team, said experts are reinforcing Brick Towers 12, 13, and 14, saying that these structures sit outside the second enclosure at the temple's northeast corner.

"These more than 1,000-year-old brick towers have suffered severe deterioration over decades," Kimhual said. "Towers 12 and 14 have collapsed, damaging their platforms. Tower 13 remains standing but requires urgent intervention due to a collapsed front wall and structural instability."

The restoration project started in May 2026 and will conclude by the end of the year.

Kimhual attributed the damage to centuries of aging, weathering, and a prolonged lack of maintenance.

Towers 12 and 14 have lost much of their original form, suffering extensive damage from their upper sections down to the pediments, he said, adding that Tower 13 is largely intact but has a collapsed front façade, a damaged doorway, and significant cracks in three walls.

"To stabilize the structures, the team cleaned the interiors and exteriors of all three towers before starting work on the platforms, door frames, and staircases," Kimhual said. "Damaged structural elements are being carefully repaired and reinforced."

He said workers are applying mortar to seal joints, as this process prevents water infiltration, deters insects, and stops weed growth on the brick surfaces.

Built in the late ninth century by King Indravarman I, Bakong, made of sandstone and laterite, was the first major mountain temple built in the UNESCO-listed Angkor Archaeological Park in northwest Siem Reap province.

The Bakong temple complex is home to a total of 22 brick towers, many of which are in varying states of disrepair, the ANA said.

Staff members work at the restoration site of a Bakong temple's tower in Siem Reap province, Cambodia, on July 10, 2026. Archaeologists are restoring the millennium-old brick towers of Bakong temple in Cambodia's Angkor Archaeological Park, the APSARA National Authority (ANA) said on Tuesday.