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Jean-Baptiste Chevance runs the Phnom Kulen Archaeological Program based in Cambodia. Saffron Aldridge talks to him about his experiences there and the programme’s goals HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN IN CAMBODIA? Ten years. I arrived as a young student in archaeology. Cambodia was the centre of the Khmer Empire, one of the greatest ancient civilisations, and an endless research subject for any archaeologist. It was a unique experience to be there when the country was just opening after years of conflict; it was still very isolated. I spent several years working on different archaeological programmes, including prospecting the forest. I quickly fell in love with Cambodia’s culture, history and people. WHAT INSPIRED YOU TOWARDS A CAREER IN ARCHAEOLOGY? I was raised travelling, and always had a great interest in history. Being able to unravel the past is a great and exciting privilege: uncovering specifics about what people believed in, survived on and fought for more than 1,000 years ago is a very challenging but rewarding experience. People often think that excavation brings a lot of answers; actually, it usually provides more questions. It’s just that the questions become more specific. For instance, we’ve been working on a very large pyramid used as a temple on a mountaintop. This has given us important information about the size of the workforce and importance of the ruler, but we still don’t know where all these people lived.
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conflicts have left many scars: a third of the population disappeared during the Khmer Rouge era, including most of the intellectuals and their knowledge. The countryside is littered with landmines and poverty is a major issue in rural areas. However, Cambodians are recovering from their past and many among the young generations are keen to reconnect with their prestigious history. We are training many students, aiming to encourage the study and conservation of our discoveries. HOW DO YOU RECONCILE THE PRIORITIES OF YOUR WORK WITH THE URGENT NEED OF THE LOCAL POPULATION?
One leads to the other. You cannot pay for the restoration of a statue from the seventh century in the forest and simultaneously watch a newborn in your village die for lack of basic medicine. Hence our programme includes several key actions for local development. We employ more than 100 local workers for each campaign; these salaries are very welcome during the dry season when they are not harvesting. We finance the local health-post salaries and provide medicines. We are rebuilding the schools, bridges and roads. We’ve also integrated our landmine removal campaign in the areas most visited by the villagers. Obviously, we need more financial help to secure some level of sustainability in terms of health, education and security. WHAT IS THE ULTIMATE GOAL OF YOUR ACTION IN CAMBODIA? With the help of the Archaeology and Development Foundation and the local authorities we aim to complete a first round of studies on the Phnom Kulen and its role in the birth of the Khmer Empire. Our priority is to offer these archaeological rewards back to the local population, creating permanent jobs, conserving and studying monuments. Equally important are our efforts in ensuring that whatever we bring in terms of change for the local population does not challenge tradition, way of life or environment. We are making great discoveries in an amazing environment with a population that has not yet been affected by many of our Western problems. By sharing their lives for many months of the year we hope that we are learning to help them reconnect with their past without disturbing their future. HOW DO THE LANDMINES AFFECT YOUR WORK? We can only work in areas that have been cleared. There are still 6m landmines in Cambodia and one injury or death a day, so we take no risks with our workers. The removal process is slow and expensive, so we need to make difficult decisions as to which areas to excavate before we start clearing the mines. This limits our flexibility if we want to excavate a bit further. As to my prospecting in the forest, the landmines are always a concern. We use the help of the locals, who often know the dangerous zones.
ARCHAEOLOGIST?
In the eyes of everybody, it is a magnificent country with an extraordinary heritage. The Khmer Empire ruled a very large area, from southern Thailand to Laos and south Vietnam for five centuries. There was a larger concentration of people than in our Western cities. Today our programme on top of Mount Kulen is uncovering the origin of this empire in the middle of lush, aggressive vegetation. Many temples and caves have been left to the jungle, some n e v e r explored. There is so much to do: it’s an extraordinary heritage that has been closed to scientific study for the past 25 years. And it also has a fascinating population – very kind, welcoming and resilient. Twenty years of devastating
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HAS LIVING IN CAMBODIA CHANGED YOUR VIEW ON THE REST OF THE WORLD?
A lot. I will never be Khmer but I can understand their culture and, therefore, mine through a different prism. HOW DO YOU RAISE MONEY AND AWARENESS FOR THE WORK YOU ARE DOING IN CAMBODIA? We are supported by the Archaeological and Development Foundation based in London, and are in regular communication with Unesco and the local authorities. We report our activities and discoveries to both Unesco and Apsara, the national authority in charge of the Angkor region. We also participate in international archaeological conferences and plan to have a website up and running very soon. We also look for private donations. DO YOU SEE YOURSELF IN CAMBODIA FOR THE NEXT 10 YEARS OR IS THERE SOMEWHERE NEW YOU WOULD LIKE TO EXPLORE?
If I can still participate in the research and conservation process of the Khmer heritage, as well as contribute to the improvement of the living conditions of Cambodians, I will continue. I like this double approach. I also think that you can find similar situations in a country like Laos, and this could be interesting to see what we could do there. WHAT IS THE BEST ADVICE YOU’VE BEEN GIVEN? Smile first!
The Archaeology & Development Foundation Phnom Kulen Archaeological Program Sponsored by the Archaeology & Development Foundation Reg. n° 1122750, Charity Commission for England & Wales. For more information on the charity please contact Vincent@cornichecap.com
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