Ce temple cambodgien est absolument incroyable ! Baphuon : la Montagne d’or d’Angkor

• The Colosseum with its circus games • Versailles and its water displays • Medieval cathedrals with their carnivals

The Cambodian temple Baphuon, a remnant of Khmer civilization, is unique because it hosted no games but instead became a puzzle of 300,000 pieces.

• Puzzle intended for archaeologists of the French School of the Far East • Collapses and wild jungle • War and exile complicating restoration

Archaeologists persevered through this oriental puzzle, which lasted several decades.

• Mekong River region covering present-day Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand • Favorable for rice cultivation • Cities connected by waterways for trade from the Gulf of Siam to the China Sea

• Funan: allied kingdoms between the 1st and 6th centuries • Chenla: 6th to 9th century, composed of independent kingdoms

In 802, Jayavarman II was appointed universal monarch at the summit of Mount Mahendra, conquering all neighboring kingdoms to found the Great Khmer Empire.

• Hariharalaya: seat of government at the crossroads of land and water routes • Angkor: spiritual capital at the foot of Mount Mahendra

• Each new emperor builds an additional temple • Construction of larger enclosures • Installation of barays (water reservoirs dedicated to deities)

Angkor means 'Temple of state' or 'Royal residence'. Sanctuaries are points of vertical connection between the world of gods and that of darkness.

Each new king leads to the construction of a new temple, maintaining cosmic balance.

• Angkor Wat built in the 12th century, surrounded by bas-reliefs and a 1,400-hectare reservoir depicted on the Cambodian flag • Baphuon: impressive 11th-century temple at Angkor Thom dedicated to the god Shiva

• Artificial sandhill covered with sandstone blocks • Pyramid with three terraces bordered by galleries • Base forming an almost perfect square of 145 by 150 meters • Four tower-gates at each cardinal point

The soft sandstone allows for increased hollow and protruding profiles, transforming the massive whole into lacework, according to archaeologist Pascal Royère.

• Vertical hierarchy of staircases creating optical illusion • Belt of towers reducing at each elevation level • Decorated exposed foundations

Long bas-relief covering the exterior surface illustrating scenes from the Ramayana and Mahabharata, two fundamental epics of Hinduism and Indian mythology.

Around 1430, royal power abandoned Angkor, leading to the progressive deterioration of the site.

Perhaps toward the end of the 15th century, the Hindu Baphuon became a Buddhist temple with the installation of a giant reclining Buddha statue on the west side of the second floor.

Over time, Baphuon was progressively abandoned and quickly swallowed by the jungle, disappearing completely from sight.

The site was not lost, allowing for future rediscovery and restoration.

In 1898 in Vietnam, the Archaeological Mission of Indochina was founded, which became the French School of the Far East.

• From 1907, the first director Jean Commaille took responsibility for the Conservation of the Angkor site • He cleared the main monuments and followed an ancient causeway into the forest • He discovered the forgotten reclining Buddha of Baphuon

Jean Commaille began clearing the site in 1907, work that stopped abruptly in 1916 when he was murdered by bandits.

• His successor Henri Marchal found a landslide that had toppled 20 meters of façade • The temple resembled a mountain landscape more than architecture • Years of work were necessary to reinforce the structure

Anastylosis means 'from original stone', a documented and proven restoration method.

This method had proven successful in Greece, Indonesia, and Cambodia before Baphuon.

• Dismantling the deteriorated monument stone by stone • Reassembling each piece in its place • Adding modern materials to strengthen the whole • Restoration of the original state

The project involved 300,000 stones, requiring 10 hectares of forest just for block storage, making it the world's largest puzzle.

• In 1967, civil war broke out in Cambodia • Clash between the communist Kampuchea party forces and the royal government • The overthrow of power led to racial purges

Many Baphuon workers perished during the purges, completely halting the work.

• From 1971, members of the EFEO were forced to leave Cambodia • Their archives were left behind • In 1975, the archives were partially looted

The archives contained the puzzle plan, notes and photos cataloging the 300,000 scattered stones.

• In 1992, the EFEO could finally return to assess the damage • War, abandonment, and jungle created a difficult combination for restoration • In 1995, King Norodom Sihanouk inaugurated the resumption of work

• French funding • Project led by Pascal Royère • Supervised by Jacques Dumarçay, 1960s architect brought out of retirement

• Work took 16 long years • Without the original plan, the puzzle had to be decoded from photographs and drawings sent to Paris before the war • Then reassembly and restoration could finally begin

• In 2008, the reclining Buddha was inaugurated • The king saw in it the symbol of the Khmer people's intelligence venerating Buddhism • In 2011, the original Baphuon rose again in its entirety

The archaeologists' feat allows us to contemplate the temple and Buddha in their entirety, each understood in their respective context.

The jewels of Khmer architecture and all those who contributed to their preservation testify to a remarkable heritage.

• Arnaud Bertrand for script composition • Isabelle Poujol, specialist in the Indianized South Asian world, for scientific support • EFEO photo library accessible online

Despite its complexity and the decades required, the effort was clearly worth it to preserve this historical treasure.