Archeological sites found in Sumbawa

Archeological sites found in Sumbawa

I Wayan Juniartha, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar, Bali

Three major archeological sites, including two spacious, yet
distinctively different burial grounds, have been found in Huu
district, Dompu regency on Sumbawa Island, West Nusa Tenggara
(NTB).

The sites, believed to be between 2,500 and 4,500-years-old,
were discovered during an eleven-day excavation sponsored by the
government.

"It was very a important find from an archeological
perspective, because in only one district we found three
different sites, only two kilometers away from
each other," expedition team leader Ayu Kusumawati said on
Wednesday.

"The sites were very vast, totaling about four hectares," she
added.

Ayu and other archeologists were convinced that the findings
would shed more light on the pre-historic traditions in the vast
equatorial archipelago.

The first site was located at the Nangasea area near the
famous surfing beach of Lakey. The team found dozens of beads,
earthenware, animal bones and shells, which suggested that it was
a settlement area in ancient times.

"It is important that the first coastal settlement was found
in West Nusa Tenggara," Ayu said.

Previously, she added, archeologists had found similar
settlements in Anyer (West Java), Plawangan (Central Java),
Gilimanuk (Bali) and in East Nusa Tenggara.

With those discoveries, Archeologists believed that the pre-
historic traditions in Indonesia spread from west to the east.

"This coastal site will surely provide important information
on the spread of certain traditions," Ayu said.

The first burial ground lies in the Oepusi (Cold Water) area,
where dozens of corpses were buried in a sitting position. "It
was a primary burial method. A slab of stone was placed
horizontally on the surface of each grave," she said.

The second burial ground located on a spacious flat terrain on
the hill of Doro Manto.

Dozens of man-made holes -- 60 centimeters in diameter and 50
centimeters deep -- were spread across the terrain's rocky
surface there. Human bones and beads were found piled up inside
the holes.

The majority of the holes' openings were still sealed with
stones.

"It was a secondary burial method. The deceased were buried
somewhere else first and after a certain period of time his or
her bones were moved into a hole in this ground.

"local people called the burial ground Kopan Cui (King's
Footprints) and indeed we found eleven human footprints in a huge
slab of stone," Ayu said.

The team also found an ancient tomb, which was believed by the
locals to have been the final resting place of Gadjah Mada, the
influential prime minister of the Javanese Majapahit Empire,
whose power and influence stretched across the archipelago in the
14th century.

"The tomb's architectural characteristics display the
influence of both pre-historic and Islamic cultures," Ayu said.

The excavation was carried out by 16 archeologists, including
three from the Jakarta-based National Archeological Research
Center (Puslit Arkenas). The remaining participants were from the
Denpasar-based Eastern Indonesia Archeological Agency.

The head of Puslit Arkenas, Haris Sukendar, himself directed
and supervised the excavation, which was held from June 22 to
July 2.

Ayu said the mission was financed by assistance funds from by
the Ministry of Tourism and Culture and the Dompu regency.

The team plans do more in September to further investigate the
sites.