[3][4] The historical significance of Ak Yum far outweighs its ruined appearance although the grassy mound set in a grove of trees makes it a popular tourist attraction as a starting point for a tour of the Angkor Archaeological Park.

[5] A well which opens from the top of the temple leads a unique type of cellar 12.25 meters below, which is the only known example of a man-made underground cave in the Ankgor Archeological Area.

Two gold leaves representing elephants as well as five polished sandstones blocks led George Trouvé to suppose that plundering had occurred here.

A masculine statue of 125 centimeters was found in this underground cellar, which later led archeologists to excavate other foundation wells and make even greater discoveries, such as the broken Buddha thrown into the Bayon temple.

Henri Marchal continued his work, but the necessity to protect the dike from collapsing limited the excavations to the superior parts of the southern and eastern angle of the complex.