43 season, the outer surface of the building gets weathered, easily exfoliated, and some stone pillars even become weakened. All said and done, for the conservation and restoration of the ruins it is crucial to have masons who are proficient in the local techniques of stone processing. In our study team, the training of stonemasons commenced in 1996. By studying the stone processing, transportation, and stonemasonry techniques of the Angkor period as depicted in sections of the Bayon temple reliefs, we were able to rediscover and put into practice via the restoration work at the Angkor Wat Western Causeway, the traditional techniques of stone temple erection that were handed down in the Angkor region. These are: (1) Techniques of stone transportation. (2) Techniques of stone stacking. (3) A unique technique of stone grinding, where by introducing sand and water between stones they are caused to adhere to each other. (4) The technique of rammed earth, and so on. On reflecting back, the Angkor Wat Western Causeway was initially 80 meters in width and 200 meters in length. During the 1960s, the EFEO restored the southern half, but the northern half was left unattended due to the turmoil and other factors in Cambodia. By uniting restoration work and training we served at the non-restored western approach, using it as a site for training Cambodian human resources. The stones on the retaining walls of the Angkor Wat Western Causeway are cubical laterite stones (red clay stones) each weighing around 200 to 300 kilograms, and stacked to a height of two or three meters. Furthermore, we used an advanced stone processing technique whereby the stones adhere to each other, so that not even a piece of paper passes through them. It was a local traditional technique that had been handed down from the past. Mr. Kosugi Takayuki, the masonry builder from Chiba Prefecture who was introduced earlier, walked barefoot over the western approach so as to get a grasp of the traditional Cambodian masonry technique that
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