Old tomb may be of Gajah Mada

Old tomb may be of Gajah Mada

BANDAR LAMPUNG, Lampung: An official team from Jakarta recently visited Pugung Tampak, a village in the Pesisir Utara district, to look at an old tomb which may belong to Gajah Mada, the prime minister of the 14th-century Majapahit kingdom.

The team, from the Supreme Advisory Council, was headed by former Lampung governor Maj. Gen. (ret.) Yasir Hadibroto, Antara reported.

Hakim Saleh Umpusinga, the chief of the West Lampung regency, said a number of teams have already inspected the tomb since the suggestion was first made a number of years ago.

They include a team of archeologists, a team from the National Research Council and another from the Ministry of Education and Culture.

One theory has it that Gajah Mada died while traveling outside of Java, the center of the Majapahit Kingdom.

Hakim said the suggestion came from the keeper of the tomb, named A. Sauna, who claims to be a descendant of Gadjah Mada. (emb)