113 Commaille’s residence and office lay at the Angkor Wat Western Causeway, and they at first sight reminded viewers of some wilted wooden boards. It was a house erected in Cambodian-style, having a raised floor, a straw roof, and an outer wall of nipa palm leaves. Commaille and his wife passed their daily lives within the house. After dark however when lights were turned on sounds of a piano played by his wife would echo around the place, and villagers from the encircling vicinity would gather about and listen with fascination. The first task Commaille chose to tackle was to carry out vast amounts of dirt that had amassed within the precincts of Angkor Wat and chop down large trees. In order to get clues as to who the king was who built Angkor Wat and what his purpose was, he moved around speaking to Cambodian monks. Removing the dirt and creating a lawn over the entire range of the precincts took around 16 years. From the first gateway entrance to the five spires that seemed as though to tower into the sky, it was he who oversaw the entire scenic landscape. Nevertheless however, one must also admit that intermingled with the vast quantities of earth and sand were life relics and archaeological materials related to the people inhabiting the place at that time, and this in consequence has made the clarification of history a little more problematic. On April 29, 1916, Commaille was assaulted and slain by a band of thieves on the road to Siem Reap city. Henri Marchal who restored Banteay Srei The second Conservator was Henri Marchal (1876-1970), and for 21 years he devoted himself as a conservator to the investigation, preservation, restoration, and research of ruins buried within the jungles. Marchal lived amidst poor working conditions. Utterly heedless as to whether it was dawn or dusk, he would depart to the site of the Angkor monuments, until his wife at length returned to France, having totally drained her affections. Even so he
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