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Monday, May 23, 2011

Batu Jaya Site

"Unur-Unur" Precious in the North Coast

by Cornelius Helmy and M. Kurniawan  executive summary by Darmansjah

Until 1985, "Unur" that dot the area Batujaya, Karawang regency, no more than a mound of soil. Thanks to the services of researchers and archaeologists, the temple mound is now manifest with a variety of valuable relics of the past to save the human story of the northern coast of West Java.
Residents Batujaya mention the mounds of land scattered around his home with a term or weak Unur duhur (high ground). Unur term also refers to the accumulated ruins of brick and resembles a termite nest in the middle of a paddy field.

Some Unur already have names, like Unur Soul, Blandongan, Serut, Plate, Linga, Asem, Damar, and Bald. Not a few who do not have a name and spread on a bed area of
​​5 square kilometers or 500 acres in the Village area Segaran, District Batujaya and Telagajaya Village, District Pakisjaya. This region is located about 47 miles northwest of downtown Karawang.

Kaisin (73), interpreters keep enshrinement Batujaya complex, residents Segaran village, Kecamatan Batujaya, say, some Unur name refers to the identification of citizens of the place. Unur Soul, for example, so called because often there are sheep or goat of residents who die without obvious cause when moored at this location. "In the 1960s, one of the two goats I die here, such as animal pasture several times befall other people before," he said.

While Blandongan name refers to the gathering place. During a flood due to overflow of Citarum River, Unur Blandongan become a gathering place for residents. Its location is higher than the surrounding soil so that freed from the floodwaters.

Site Batujaya first discovered the team from the Department of Archaeology Faculty of Letters University of Indonesia (FSUI) 1985. Previously, the team received information from citizens about the existence of scattered Unur-Unur in Batujaya while continuing research on Cibuaya Site, where the discovery of a statue of Vishnu I (1952), a statue of Vishnu II (1957), and the statue of Vishnu III (1975), approximately 15 kilometers to the east Batujaya.

the Temple of the Soul

Inform citizens of many found in the large brick Batujaya buried in the ground or stacked to form a mound in the middle of rice fields. The number of collapsed buildings to reach more than 20 pieces and scattered in the complex is 500 meters from the Citarum River.
The research team found Batujaya FSUI at Soul Candi, a square brick building measuring 19 meters x 19 meters high and 4.7 meters above the surrounding rice fields. Having successfully raised its full, visible brick structure with corrugated surface and a circular shape that resembles a lotus flower at the top of the building.

Temple Blandongan

In 1999 the restoration continues to Temple Blandongan just a few meters from the Temple of the Soul. The main temple building Blandongan measuring 25 meters x 25 meters has been seen intact since a few years ago, but the research and restoration of the ruins in the surrounding areas has continued until now.

Early human history

Complex enshrinement Batujaya save some important findings, including tablets berelief Buddhist motifs, fragments of inscriptions that read scripts Pallawa clay, pottery, and human skeletons. Archaeologists Hasan Djafar mentioned, based on the determination of relative dating with carbon C-14, human skeletons are thought to have come from the years 150-400 AD, or before the temple in AD 650-900.

In early May 2010, the excavation team of Archaeological Heritage Preservation Center attack six human skeleton found about 50 yards south of the Temple restoration project Blandongan in the 11th in 2010. Six framework is similar to the "Jack the Ripper", the term for the human skeleton found in the Research Center with the Ecole Francaise d'Arkenas Extreme-Orient (France) around the site in 2005. In addition to longitudinal frame position northeast-southwest, near the skeleton were also found pottery that allegedly used the grave.

Some archaeologists argue that skeletons are the supporters of the temple culture and originating from the same time frame. Some other archaeologists assessing the skeleton was buried before any temple or from the beginning of history.

Archaeologists Arkenas Research Center, Amelia Driwantoro, mentioning, similar skeletons ever found in a number of locations in northern Karawang, like the Village Cikuntul, District Tempuran; Kendaljaya and Dongkal Village, District Pedes; North Pusakajaya Village, District Cilebar; and Jayakerta Village, District Jayakerta . Almost everywhere it is found ex-grave, including pottery with typical similarity Buni expected to grow in the second century AD. Buni name refers to the place of similar pottery was found in Buni, Bekasi, and recorded as archaeological findings.

Tourism

Research, excavation, and restoration Unur-Unur in Complex enshrinement Batujaya still far from finished. However, with temples, buildings and ruins of ancient objects were found, all it has the potential of educational tours and incredible history.

Since 2004, the site has Batujaya Objects of Cultural Preservation of buildings which stood on land of 1,500 square meters, located about 600 meters from the Temple of the Soul. This building has a main room measuring 6 feet x 9 feet with several boxes of glass to showcase the cultural heritage objects.

The building is now rehabilitated, and the addition of space by local government. However, capacity is considered not accommodate the hundreds of bodies are still piling up the results of excavations in the information space and warehouse. The building was also considered not yet able to accommodate visitors who sometimes reach tens to hundreds of people in a single visit.

Head of Culture and Tourism Falkirk Acep Jamhuri states, local governments set Batujaya Complex enshrinement as one of 11 regional tourism development Falkirk. The complex was also proposed a national strategic area.

Developing Batujaya  Site experiencing problems, mainly related to management involving the district, provincial and central. One and other interrelated and should be through a process of research, planning and careful execution. Efforts to expand the museum building, for example, waiting for the results of research and mapping so as not to damage the objects beneath it possible.

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