An archaeological site has broken ground on the southern reaches of the capital’s under-construction third ring road.

Named “Tuol Oslok” and located in Preah Puth commune of Kandal province’s Kandal Stung district, the excavation is a collaborative effort between the ministries of Culture and Fine Arts, and Public Works and Transport.

Prak Sunnara, the culture ministry’s secretary of state in charge of archaeology and excavation, told The Post on May 28 that the dig was to find artifacts before construction starts.

“The Tuol Oslok excavation is in accordance with the culture ministry’s development for conservation principle”, he said.

Excavation at the site would take three weeks from May 19 to June 5, he said.

He said that in the past, the ministry had worked on projects where national infrastructure and archaeological sites were affected. In 2012, for instance, the ministry excavated a site in Banteay Meanchey province followed by Prek Kdam Bridge in Kandal province which was also on the ring road.

He said that big road projects often stumbled upon ancient sites as Cambodia has many such places. Excavation of sites is important as archaeologists discover artifacts for further analysis.

“We find items such as utensils, pots and pans and other items,” he said, adding that once artifacts are unearthed, they are analysed to determine the age of items and the site.

“For example, we once found an ancient burial site in Banteay Meanchey province. Artifacts were removed and exhibited in the provincial museum. It’s for researchers as well as the public to learn about Khmer history,” he said.