Preserving ancient sites, a slow and hard process

Preserving ancient sites, a slow and hard process

Anis Suryani and Sulistyo Budi N, Contributors, Yogyakarta

Hundreds of historical sites scattered all over Java reveal
the long journey of Javanese culture. At least 460 sites with
historical buildings are also found in Yogyakarta, long
recognized as the center of the development of Javanese culture.

The historical sites found in the province include 90 temples,
while others are just simple stone constructions from pre-
historic times, such as dolmen and menhir. Some are inherited
from the early Islamic period, including mosques, palaces and
tombs, and more recent sites originate from colonial times, such
as fortresses, buildings and landmarks.

The sites classified as temples are usually stone Buddhist or
Hindu constructions built between the 8th and 15th centuries.

One of the biggest and most important temples found in the
area is Prambanan temple, the country's biggest Hindu temple.
Located next to the Buddhist Sewu temple site, the Prambanan
compound consists of some 240 temples. From that number only 18
temples have been restored. Other temple sites still being
restored include Ratu Boko, which is located some 10 kilometers
south of Prambanan, and the Barong and Ijo temples which are not
far from Ratu Boko.

According to the chairman of the Yogyakarta Historical and
Archeological Heritage Reserve (SPSP) office's restoration
working group, Bambang Prasetya, out of 90 temples found in
Yogyakarta, only 4 percent have been restored or are currently
undergoing restorative work. Others have barely been touched,
mostly due to the lack of adequate funding.

Limited funding, he explained, is the biggest constraint in
the effort to restore temples. The state budget, the main source
of money for the restoration works, has continually decreased,
especially after the economic crisis hit the country.

"The largest level of funding we ever received from the budget
for the restoration was Rp 750 million a year. That was in 1985.
Then it got smaller and smaller. First 300 million a year, now
it's only some 30 million," Bambang said.

The money is far from enough, he said, as most of the
materials needed for the restoration process were imported.

"For this year alone I can say there is almost no restoration
project at all as the existing funds are only enough for four
months of restoration work," Bambang said.

The way the central government distributes restoration funds
for a particular region is another problem, he added.

"Instead of using the number of archeological remains found in
a region, the government bases the funding on the width of the
province. This is ridiculous. The Yogyakarta Special Territory is
a tiny province but it has so many archeological and historical
remains like temples," Bambang said.

If nothing is done, some temples in Yogyakarta might vanish.
For instance, Ijo temple in Sambirejo village in Prambanan,
Sleman regency.

The Ijo temple is unique because, unlike most temples which
are built in flat areas with the main building located right in
the middle of the complex, Ijo temple was constructed on a hilly,
terraced site with the main building located on the highest
terrace and a gate on every terrace of the complex.

Unfortunately, just some 500 meters below the complex, the
presence of a white stone quarry that many locals use as their
main source of income might eventually affect the land that
supports the temple complex.

"If nothing can be done about it, it will be difficult to
carry out the restoration project as the temple's foundations
will keep sinking and it will endanger the entire building,"
Bambang said.

Anticipating the worst, SPSP offices and authorities in
Sambirejo village and Prambanan district worked to move the
location of the quarry outside the temple complex's zone. In this
case, two hectares of replacement quarry area have also been
prepared.

"Hopefully, the community is willing to move there," said
Bambang, adding that a counseling program on safe quarrying was
also provided by the Sleman government.

Excavation of Ijo temple was first conducted in 1985. Apart
from its uniqueness, it is also considered important because it
represents the final period during which temples were constructed
in the region. However, information about when exactly the temple
was first built is not yet available.

It is acknowledged that the temple had something to do with an
ancient epigraph kept at the Jakarta Museum of History.

Historian Rouffaer made the connection with the epigraph,
which was first discovered by a Dutchman named Holle, as it
mentioned the name of a village, Erhijo (air hijau or green
water), as translated by another historian Soekerto Atmojo. Ijo
is the Javanese word for green.

The epigraph, dating back to the year 906 according to the
Christian calendar, mentions that Kandangan village and its sub-
village of Erhijo were declared as perdikan (excused from the
payment of taxes as a result of assuming some burden or
responsibility) by a palace official named Rakryan I Wungkal
Tihangpuwira Krama.