[Article] Recently Discovered Prehistoric Site Already Sacred.

January 18, 2011 | Jakarta Globe by Aidi Yursal

Medan. A recently discovered megalithic site and a mass grave in South Sumatra is now regarded as sacred and the land on which it was found as holy ground by the villagers of Segayun in the Gumay Ulu district of Lahat.
The South Sumatra Archaeology Center has said it would first need to coordinate with the Segayun villagers, who are defending the site as their own protected land, before any excavation could begin or survey plans could materialize.
A researcher for the center, Kristantina Indriastuti, suggested on Tuesday that the site was a prehistoric residential area, judging by a statue of half a human body found 30 meters away from the grave.
“The site was discovered in the middle of a one-hectare coffee plantation owned by Segayun resident Thamrin,” Kristantina told the Jakarta Globe.
She confirmed that a team of researchers would soon be sent to study the site, adding that she believed the villagers of Segayun would never allow any harm to come it. 

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[Article] Prehistoric Remains Found in Aceh Town.

September 27, 2010 | Jakarta Globe | Antara

Takengon, Aceh. Two archeologists from Medan have found evidence that a village in Central Aceh district had been inhabited by prehistoric humans.
Ketut Wiradnyana and Lucas Partanda Koestoro announced on Sunday that they had found artifacts such as a a square stone axe, a niche, pottery pieces and a human skeleton inside a cave near Danau Laut Tawar, a lake in Kampung Mendale.
“One of our latest discoveries is a human skeleton which we found in the Ujung Karang Kebayakan area, another excavation site near Kampung Mendale,” Ketut said.
The skeleton’s exact age has yet to be confirmed, since the excavation is still ongoing.
Ketut said the artifacts would have to undergo a carbon dating test at the National Atomic Energy Agency (Batan).
Last May, residents of Jayapura district in Papua Province found prehistoric relics at two different locations.

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[Article] Maritime Museum Plan Runs Aground, Threatening Nation’s Oldest Known Ship.

September 16, 2010 | Jakarta Globe | Antara, JG

Rembang, Central Java. A funding shortfall has threatened to sink the planned development of a maritime museum — set to be the biggest museum in the country — in Punjulharjo village in the Central Java district of Rembang.
Preservationists say the museum, which would be built around the remains of the oldest-ever ship to be discovered in the archipelago, requires five hectares of land.
The ship, however, was discovered on private property, and finding money to purchase the land has proved difficult.
The Rembang Historical Society, the main group behind the museum, said the local government had agreed to purchase the land needed for the project.
“However, the government could only provide enough money to acquire one hectare,” Edy Winarno, head of the society, said on Thursday. “We are hoping to bring this to the attention of the central government.”
Villagers discovered the 1,200-year-old vessel on July 26, 2008, as they were digging a pond in what had been a coconut grove. Carbon dating tests performed in the United States suggested the ship was built in the seventh century.

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[Article] 2,500-Year-Old Human Remains Discovered in Bali.

August 29, 2010 | The Jakarta Globe | Made Arya Kencana

 
Denpasar. Archeologists in Bali say they have unearthed ancient human remains that date back to about 500 B.C. at a village in the island’s southeast.
Ayu Kusumawati, a researcher from the Denpasar Archeological Society, said on Sunday that two sarcophagi had been discovered by a bricklayer in a quarry near Keramas village in Gianyar.
She said the group opened one of the stone caskets on Sunday. It contained a human skeleton with all the bones intact. The second sarcophagus is set to be opened on Monday.
Ayu said both of the coffins had identical markings on the outside, which culminated in a tortoise-shaped relief at the top. A pitcher was also found inside the opened sarcophagus.

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[Article] Ancient bone find may change human history.

August 03, 2010 | Jakarta Globe | by Cecil Morella

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A 67,000-year-old foot bone found in the Philippines

Archaeologists have found a foot bone that could prove the Philippines was first settled by humans 67,000 years ago, thousands of years earlier than previously thought, the National Museum said Tuesday.
The bone, found in an extensive cave network, predates the 47,000-year-old Tabon Man that is previously known as the first human to have lived in the country, said Taj Vitales, a researcher with the museum's archaeology section.
"This would make it the oldest human remains ever found in the Philippines," Vitales told AFP.
A team of archaeologists from the University of the Philippines and the National Museum dug up the third metatarsal bone of the foot in 2007 in the Callao caves near Penablanca, about 335 kilometres (210 miles) north of Manila.

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[Article] Religious Affairs Ministry to Help Manage Historic Temples

March 16, 2010 | Candra Malik & Ulma Haryanto | Jakarta Globe

In response to calls from Hindu and Buddhist leaders, Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali said his ministry would play a role in the management of historic temples in the country. 

“In the past, the government has only looked at temples and historic sites from the point of view of tourism and culture. In fact, temples and historic sites have an important religious function,” Suryadharma said during a ceremony on Monday at Prambanan Temple in Klaten, Central Java, to welcome Nyepi, or the Day of Silence. 

He said his ministry would work with other agencies to increase public appreciation for the country’s historic temples, while also facilitating their use as active places of worship. 

Hindu and Buddhist leaders have asked the Ministry of Religious Affairs to jointly manage temples with the Ministry of Tourism and Culture. 

Among their demands is that Hindus and Buddhists going to temples to worship not be charged tourist entrance fees. 

Although no details have been released, the new arrangement could see more rulings similar to Borobudur Temple’s recently announced ban on tourists wearing skimpy clothes to respect the “sacredness of the place.” 

Central Java’s governor, Bibit Waluyo, said he hoped Prambanan Temple would become a center of worship for Hindus in Indonesia and from around the world. 

“The rebuilding of Prambanan Temple after the 2006 earthquake should not be oriented only toward the physical development of the temple, but should also consider religious aspects, cultural preservation and the economic growth of the surrounding community, because this temple is also an object of religious tourism,” Bibit said. 

Suroso, the Ministry of Tourism and Culture’s director of archeological heritage, said the co-management of historic temples should not be a problem as far as the issues of religious observances and conservation were concerned. 

He added that the arrangement “is still in line with the ministry’s basic tasks and functions.” 

Suroso said the Ministry of Religious Affairs would only regulate ceremonial matters at the temples. 

“But the conservation, preservation and maintenance will still be the responsibility of the Ministry of Tourism and Culture,” he said.

Photo Credit : Copyright © 2008 PT. Different Bali Indonesia Tours and Trave.

Découverte d'une statue de Nandin à Yogyakarta (Java, Indonésie)

Sacred Statue Uncovered at Site of Ancient Hindu Temple in Yogyakarta

Ari Adji - Jakarta Globe

A statue of Nandi, the sacred bull that carried the Hindu god Shiva, was discovered on Wednesday among the ruins of what is believed to be an ancient temple at an excavation site in Yogyakarta.

Indung Panca Putra, the head of the excavation team from the Yogyakarta Antiquities and Relics Conservation Agency, said the discovery of the statue, which in Hindu mythology is said to embody sexual energy and fertility, meant that the team would now continue its work until Jan. 20. A previous deadline for the excavation work had been set for Jan. 6.
“The statue is exquisite,” Indung said. “The sculpture is carved differently from other statues of Nandi. This one is not depicted as fat.”
Previous discoveries at the site, which is located on the Indonesian Islamic University campus, include a statue of Ganesha, Shiva’s divine son; a linga , the symbol of worship for Shiva; and a yoni , a Hindu symbol for divine passage or birth.
“We strongly believe the temple had a roof and its pillars were made of wood or bamboo,” Indung said.
He said archeologists were working under the assumption that the pillars had not been destroyed by a volcanic mudflow hundreds of years ago, but had instead been removed by people.

Indung said that the temple ruins were different from other temples found in Central Java.
“We have compared what we have found to what was found in the temples of Sambisari, Gebang and Kedulan. The comparisons have led us to believe that the material used for the temple and its statues were much harder and the sculptures are far more refined,” Indung said.
The first discovery at the site, the Ganesha statue on Dec. 21, was made when the university was preparing to lay foundations for a new library. Indung said excavation machines uncovered rocks five-meters deep that resembled an ancient building complex.
The conservation team, consisting of four archaeologists and four engineers, has been working ever since to find other statues.

For security reasons, the campus has had to install a fence around the dig site. The archaeological find is considered vulnerable to theft, considering the historical value of the temple.