The team at the Norodom Sihanouk-Angkor Museum is currently cleaning statue fragments originating from Angkor Wat Temple, which were previously discovered within the temple grounds by the APSARA National Authority. This represents an essential task prior to safely storing and eventually restoring the fragments.

Ms. Chon Channarat, a technical officer at the Norodom Sihanouk-Angkor Museum, stated that the artifact cleaning team is currently working on nearly 300 sandstone statue fragments. She added that these fragments vary in size, mostly consisting of sandstone, alongside mountain stone and ceramics. She recalled that the fragments were discovered by the APSARA National Authority in 2020 during excavation to install a lawn irrigation system within the Angkor Wat temple complex. In July 2026, all the fragments were transferred to the museum for inventorying, cataloging, and cleaning.

Ms. Chon Channarat explained that two cleaning methods are employed: dry cleaning and wet cleaning. The cleaning process requires extreme care and delicacy, as many of the statues are decayed, particularly those coated with lacquer. Consequently, the cleaning process is time-consuming, taking one to two weeks per stone piece. To date, the team has successfully cleaned 10 statues and continues this work with meticulous attention to detail.