Archeological sites losing out to development

JAKARTA (JP): Apart from the national campaign to protect the environment, a leading archeologist said on Saturday that the nation must not overlook conservation of the country's cultural heritage.

Mundardjito, speaking at the University of Indonesia, said many areas containing valuable historical as well as prehistoric archeological remains across the country have been wiped out in the name of development.

"Physical development conducted by people today directly or indirectly is causing the destruction and disappearance of archeological data that are crucial if we are to understand our society and culture," Mundardjito said.

"Failure to conserve these situs could deny us the opportunity to understand our own identity and the dynamism of the nation's socio-cultures. Sophisticated archeological theory and methodology are of no use if we don't have the data in the first place," he said.

Situs are lands thought to contain valuable archeological remains that can reflect the systematic, social and technological values of past societies.

Mundardjito, an archeology and anthropology lecturer at the university's School of Letters, was installed as professor at the ceremony on Saturday. It was also a gift for his birthday, which came one day before he turned 59.

He said the attention given to conserving the nation's cultural heritage pales in comparison to the vigorous campaign launched two decades ago to protect the country's environment.

"Those concerned with cultural preservation have tried hard to raise the attention and awareness of the public to join in the endeavor, but they cannot match the results achieved by environmental activists," he said.

He spoke of the need for a national cultural heritage campaign.

"We need the campaign because there have been many cases when situs were submerged in the name of development," he said.

The banks along the Ciliwung River in West Java, which contain valuable prehistoric sites, have been destroyed to make way for industrial and residential development, he said. Another example is the Awangbangkal paleolithic sites in south Kalimantan, which were submerged for a reservoir.

Addressing the potential conflict between economic development and archeological conservation, especially where land use and ownership are concerned, Mundardjito reminded that archeological sites are protected under the 1992 Law on National Cultural Heritage.

However, the conversion of land usage, he said, has continued unabated.

Such lack of concern is even found among archeologists, he said, pointing out that the problem is rarely raised in scientific papers or discussions.

The conservation of archeological sites was only introduced as a university subject in 1985, he noted.

Mundardjito said archeologists were not consulted during the drafting of the 1992 Law on National Cultural Heritage.

Only when the bill was nearing the final stages of debate was the Association of Indonesian Archeologists invited by the House of Representatives to give its opinions, he said. "As it turned out, the association's suggestions, for major changes, were accepted by the House."

Edi Sedyawati, the Director General of Culture at the Ministry of Education and Culture, who was present at the oration ceremony, said later that she fully supported Mundardjito's proposal for a national campaign.

"This is a big challenge for archeologists. They have to inform and convince the public that they have to conserve the nation's cultural heritage," she said.

Mundardjito said many archeological sites across Indonesia are not legally protected under land laws. Very few of them actually have land certificates, which would shield the land from being taken over for other purposes.

The few exceptions include the temples of Borobudur and Prambanan in Central Java, he added. (05)