Hindu temple found in Indonesian excavation under an Islamic University

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Dear Guruvayoorappa Devotees:

 

 

Here is some interesting news that I found on an Abhinavagupta Listserv:

 

 

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DKM Kartha

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Temple discovery reveals clues of Indonesia's past

 

By Indonesia correspondent Gavin Fang

 

 

The temple was found on the grounds of Yogyakarta's Islamic University. (ABC

News)

 

Archaeologists in Indonesia have uncovered a 1,000-year-old temple that could

shed light on the country's Hindu past.

 

The intricately carved statues and reliefs are some of the best preserved in

Indonesia, but the dig is being conducted under tight security to protect the

site from well-organised relic thieves.

 

The temple was found on the grounds of Yogyakarta's Islamic University as

workers probed the ground to lay foundations for a new library, and they

realised the earth beneath their feet was not stable.

 

Digging soon revealed an extraordinary find: three metres underground were

still-standing temple walls. Heavy rains then exposed the top of a statue of the

god Ganesha in pristine condition.

 

A few weeks into the excavation, archaeologists are declaring the temple and its

rare and beautiful statues an important discovery that could provide insights

into Indonesia's pre-Islamic culture.

 

" This temple is a quite significant and very valuable because we have never

found a temple as whole and intact as this one, " said archaeologist Dr Budhy

Sancoyo, who is one of the researchers painstakingly cleaning up the temple.

 

" For example, looking at where the statues are placed in this temple, they are

in their original positions, unlike the other temples.

 

" This temple is important for understanding the culture of our ancestors. "

 

A volcanic eruption is thought most likely to have covered the temple around the

10th century, about 100 years after it was built.

 

The eruption preserved its statues and reliefs in better condition than almost

everything else discovered in Indonesia from that period, including the

Borobodur and Prambanan temple complexes.

 

But now that they are exposed, the temple's contents need to be protected with

24-hour security. Last November, thieves plundered the nearby Plaosan Temple.

 

The heads of two rare Buddhist statues were stolen, to be traded by organised

syndicates dealing in artefacts. Tri Wismabudhi from central Java's culture and

heritage agency says temple thieves are robbing Indonesians of a piece of their

history.

 

" To us, archaeological sites like this are archaeological data, so if the data

is missing or incomplete, that means the history of the nation is also missing, "

he said.

 

" People don't understand that. That's why they steal, because they don't realise

how important this is for us as a nation. "

 

At the Kimpulan temple on the campus of Yogyakarta's Islamic University, the

statue of Ganesha is being kept slightly buried to make it harder to steal. It

could sell for up to $250,000 on the black market.

 

The university wants to open the site to the public once the dig is complete.

The library that was destined for the site will be redesigned to incorporate the

Hindu temple.