Cambodia contains archaeological sites that span more than 6,000 years of human habitation, ranging from prehistoric shell midden sites (basically, pre-historic domestic waste piles) to monumental temples. Political conflict and civil war in Cambodia during the 1970s, however, prevented archaeologists from conducting extensive research in the region until recently. Following the conflict, the main focus of archaeology has been on the preservation and restoration of well-known cultural heritage monuments that were affected directly by the war. As a result of this, there has been less focus on understanding the greater historical context of Cambodia and the people who used to live here.
There is a need for reconstruction/preservation of ancient temples that have already been discovered and were affected either by wartime conflict or erosion over time. There is also a need for pre-Angkorian temple sites to be documented, especially the smaller brick temples that remain unmapped and poorly known.
We are nothing without our history, and cultural heritage is a source of national pride for many communities around the world. One issue that Cambodia (and sites around the world) has is the increase of looting and illegal antiquities trading.
