The Role of Archives in World Heritage Management: Developing an Archival System for Koh Ker

On the 29 and 30 October 2024, UNESCO Phnom Penh Office organised a consultative workshop, in close collaboration with the National Authority for Preah Vihear, and supported by the Japanese Funds-in-Trust, with the objective of promoting the development of an archive management system for the archaeological site of Koh Ker.

Documentary heritage holds crucial importance in the safeguarding of World Heritage properties, as it provides evidence of the interventions, damages, and restorations it has experienced, allowing to fully retrace its past, and therefore providing the basis for all future research, analysis, and conservation activities. Through the past decades, the research and restoration work carried out in archaeological sites have produced vast quantities of significant documentary evidence, including scientific records, historical studies, inventories, maps, photographs, reports, and reproductions: ensuring the preservation and accessibility of such archival records represents a key aspect of the management of a World Heritage property.

Following the inscription of the Koh Ker Archaeological Site of Ancient Lingaura or Chok Gargyar onto the UNESCO World Heritage List in September 2023, the National Authority for Preah Vihear/Koh Ker, the institution responsible for the management of the archaeological area, has been facing the urgent task of safeguarding Koh Ker's documentary materials, which have, thus far, been stored in the archives of different institutions in Cambodia, including the National Archives of Cambodia, the National Museum, la Conservation d'Angkor, and the École Française d'Extrême-Orient.

The establishment of a centralized archive system, which is equipped to ensure the preservation of, and accessibility to, all existing records pertaining to the Koh Ker area, constitutes a fundamental prerequisite to informing the research and conservation efforts at the site, and gain a full understanding of its history. Therefore, UNESCO has been supporting the National Authority for Preah Vihear/Koh Ker in their efforts to establish an effective archive management strategy, in particular through the development of adequate facilities where to store and organize documentary materials, together with the creation of a "Standard Operating Procedure" for the retention and secure archiving of electronic and paper-based records.

In order to enhance the archive administration capacities of the Koh Ker site managers, a two-days consultative workshop was held by UNESCO in Siem Reap on the 29 and 30 October 2024, with the support of the Japanese Funds-in-Trust, tackling topics which encompassed all aspects of archival administration, including physical and digital preservation, acquisition and selection, cataloguing and organization, accessibility, and disaster risk management.

The event, which saw the participation of 32 representatives of Cambodian heritage properties and national archiving agencies, aimed to foster cooperation and sharing of knowledge and expertise amongst multiple institutions in Cambodia, promoting the undertaking of multidisciplinary approaches to World Heritage preservation.

Through several rounds of presentations, tutorials, and round-table discussions, the participants had the opportunity to mutually exchange information about methods, techniques, and best practices in archive preservation, identifying common challenges and priority areas in Cambodia, and developing effective strategies to collect, organize, and utilize Koh Ker's irreplaceable documentary heritage.

In fact, as expressed by Mrs. Mardi Oum, Deputy Director of the Department of Research, Training, and Communication of APSARA National Authority, "being able to access and examine the entire corpus of documentation associated with a World Heritage property is a prerequisite for understanding the significance, authenticity, and vulnerabilities of the site, ensuring that all future restoration and safeguarding activities are compliant with technical norms".

This initiative falls under the framework of the UNESCO "Safeguarding World Heritage Archives in Southeast Asia" project, which was launched in 2022 with the support of the Japanese Funds-in-Trust programme. Koh Ker represents one of three pilot World Heritage Sites which were selected, together with the Borobudur Temple Compounds in Indonesia and the Historic City of Ayutthaya in Thailand, with the objective of enhancing the understanding, organization, conservation, and accessibility of archives associated with archaeological sites in the Southeast Asian region.

The initial phase of the project focused on conducting on-site needs assessments, and providing site-specific recommendation, while the current phase is centred around capacity-building activities for site managers, conducted on the basis of the UNESCO Recommendation concerning the Preservation of, and Access to, Documentary Heritage Including in Digital Form (2015) which provides technical and strategic guidance for the management of documentary heritage.