Bunkers, stones, structures listed as protected heritage

The Jakarta Post, Fri, 03/20/2009 1:10 PM

BOGOR: A team of archeologists listed four bunkers, three stones with round-shaped holes (batu dakon) and two terrace structures (punden berundak) in three separate locations in Bogor municipality as protected heritage earlier this month.

Senior archeologist Prof. Uka Tjandrasasmita, Lutfi Yondri from the Bandung Archeology House, Hasan Djafar from the University of Indonesia, and Zakaria Kasimin from the Heritage Conservation House in Banten, reached their decision after examining the artifacts over a 10-day period.

Uka said the bunkers, located in Batu Tulis subdistrict, were built between 1939 and 1941 under the Dutch colonial administration and served as defense strongholds against Japanese troops.

The stones found in Empang and Pasir Jaya subdistricts, as well as the terrace structures in Pasir Mulya subdistrict are from the megalithic era.

All the artifacts are protected under a 1992 law on cultural heritage protection.- JP

Country’s Heritage Crumbling

The Jakarta Globe, Nurfika Osman, March 13, 2009 

Up to 5,800 cultural sites across the archipelago have been left in disrepair and are in danger of falling apart due to continued neglect, an official said on Friday. 

The director of archeological heritage at the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Suroso, said that residents were growing increasingly apathetic toward their cultural heritage, and that if the trend continued, the country would be put at a disadvantage. 

“Indonesia could lose its cultural heritage buildings,” he said. “But the most important thing is that Indonesia stands to lose its national identity if this neglect of cultural heritage is allowed to continue.” 

Suroso added that the country would also face financial losses. 

“If we maintain the heritage buildings, we will also get economic advantages as more people will visit us,” he said. He said money earned from tourism could be invested in maintenance of the sites to ensure ancient buildings would be protected. 

“People now tend to build more buildings rather than maintaining our cultural heritage,” he said. “[Indonesians] also tend to love other country’s heritage more than their own.” 

Suroso said that there were some 7,400 cultural heritage sites registered across the country, but only 1,600 of them were well maintained by local residents. 

He said the lack of maintenance was partly caused by the country’s decentralization, meaning the central government was no longer fully responsible for the protection of the sites. 

“But we still continue monitoring the protection of cultural heritage across the country,” he said. The state-run new agency Antara reported that Indonesia has allocated Rp 215 billion ($18 million) to maintain cultural heritage buildings across the country.

Related Article:

Archaeological Dig in Aceh Turns Up 3,500-Year-Old Bones and Artifacts

Villagers Give Back 2.150 Majapahit Ancient Bricks

Tuesday, 10 February, 2009 | 19:38 WIB

 

TEMPO Interactive, Mojokerto:Klinterejo villagers in Mojokerto yesterday returned at least 2.150 bricks originating from the ancient Majapahit Kingdom. The bricks were put back to where they were initially found.

 

According to Klinterejo village chief, Zainal Abidin, the villagers found the 20 x 35 centimeter bricks four years ago when they dug the village land. Since then, the land has been rented out for brick production.

 

Besides preserving the ancient bricks, around 20 Klinterejo villagers yesterday dug out more bricks in two locations just 150 meters away. In the three-hectare area where the Majapahit site is located, delicately sculptured old bricks forming a one-meter gate were found.

 

Besides the bricks, the villagers recently found at least eight ancient stone statues in the village bordering the Trowulan sub district. Zainal said there are still 7.000 more bricks that have not been returned by the villagers, 6.000 of which belong to the Roudlotul Ulum Islamic Boarding School.

 

While awaiting the arrival of the Yogyakarta National Archeological Research and Development Center experts to conduct a research, the ancient stones are stored at the Bre Kahuripan Site, locating only 100 meter from where the bricks were found.

 

An official from East Java Antiquities and Relics Conservation Agency (BP3), Aris Sovyani, said the government, through the BP3, will lease the land required for the research at Klinterejo. “Based on the recommendations of State Minister of Culture and Tourism, Jero Wacik, we will lease the area so the findings can be preserved,” Aris said, contacted by Tempo.

 

Aris also said that BP3 officials will start measuring the land area tomorrow.

 

KTHI HM

Related Article:

Govt ruined Majapahit artifacts

Govt ruined Majapahit artifacts

The Jakarta Post, JAKARTA | Thu, 01/15/2009 3:29 PM 

 

The government admitted Wednesday the construction of Majapahit Park in Trowulan, East Javaa project initiated by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono - has ruined ancient artifacts buried beneath the site, and announced a plan to relocate the park immediately.

 

Bowing to mounting public pressure, Minister for Culture and Tourism Jero Wacik told reporters in Jakarta that the decision had been reached after he and several senior archeologists and architects had spoken about the damages to artifacts of the ancient Majapahit kingdom on the site. "I swear, I never meant to destroy Indonesia's heritage by constructing the Majapahit Park. I just wanted to follow the presidential instruction to revive the civilization of the Majapahit Kingdom as our heritage and to introduce it to young people," he said.

 

The project, initiated by Yudhoyono in November 2008 to establish a public cultural center dedicated to the ancient Majapahit kingdom, which was at the height of its powers in the 13th century, is located on a 2,200 square-meter plot just north of the center of what was once Trowulanthe largest city in the kingdom.

 

A number of archeologists have said the park construction, which sunk support pillars into the ground, had destroyed ancient stones, walls and artifacts.

 

I understand why the archeologists are mad at me. I'm also angry at the situation. This is human error and we have to fix it rather than blaming one another," Jero said.

 

"We have decided to relocate Majapahit Park to another area to prevent further damage to the artifacts."

 

Arya Abieta, a member of the team appointed to evaluate the damage, said the archeologists and architects working in the area had recommended that the park instead be developed on the edges of the historical site.

 

can use the area that has been heavily looted by locals. It will be safer than building on top of the remaining artifacts," Arya said.

 

The Trowulan site, located in Mojokerto, 70 kilometers southwest of Surabaya, East Java, was the site of tradition full-moon rituals during the golden era of the Majapahit Kingdom.

 

Long after the decline of the kingdom in 14th century, locals began to loot the palace and religious buildings, including Tikus Temple. Many artifacts have been stolen or destroyed.

 

"No one seemed to care much about this old city before the Majapahit Park project began. Now, every one seems to care, and this is good because we have to protect the Majapahit artifacts," Jero said. (naf)