World legacy awaits caretakers

Built between 762 and 824 A.D. during the Syailendra Dynasty, Borobudur Temple is prominent in the landscape as an intriguing historical monument.

The World Heritage Committee has inscribed Borobudur temple into the World Heritage List of the Unesco-Heritage Center since December 1991. The temple is refined work in the form of a stepped pyramid of six rectangular stories, three circular terraces and culminated in a central, grand stupa, and comprises of some 55,000 square meters of stones.

When it was first discovered during the Dutch colonial time, according to head of the Center for Borobudur Study and Conservation Dukut Santoso, the temple was in a ruined shape.

"It was still in a very poor shape when I joined the Borobudur restoration project in 1971," said Dukut, who is also vice chairman of the 4th International Expert Meeting on Borobudur's steering committee.

The restoration project that Dukut joined in was not the first restoration work done of the largest Buddhist temple in the world. Reports say the first large scale restoration work was held in 1907 to 1911 by a Dutch engineer named Teodhore Van Erp.

But the restoration conducted by Van Erp was only partial, just to prevent the temple from collapsing. It did not stop the temple's damaging process, like due to natural factors.

The temple kept deteriorating and in 1969, it was declared in a dangerous condition and in need of restoration.

With the support of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) and other international organizations under the coordination of Unesco, the government conducted a comprehensive restoration of Borobudur in 1973-183.

According to Hubertus Sadirin of the Indonesian Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Borobudur was the only archeological heritage in Indonesia that was restored comprehensively by involving modern technology to diagnosis technical problems encountered during the restoration works.

Yet, again, the successful restoration that was completed in 1983 could not totally stop the natural deterioration process of the temple, like those due to natural factors such as rainwater, radiation, and microorganism. The restoration, therefore, just slow the process down.

Superficial scaling, cementation and micro-cracking are among the problems the Borobudur conservation center has been dealing with in its routine conservation works. The conservation work itself, according to Dukut, basically consists of two main activities, routine maintenance and monitoring.

Routine maintenance includes mechanical washing, which is conducted twice a year, and chemical washing once a year. Monitoring activities mainly focus on monitoring the condition of the stones, the temple structure and the hill beneath the temple.

Of the three, both the temple structure and the hill were considered in good conditions. Researcher Kabul Basah Suryolelono of Gadjah Mada University, who has conducted a stabilization analysis and monitoring of the temple, confirmed the condition.

The stones condition, according to Dukut, was the most concerning, especially the superficial scaling on it due to the existence of seepage water in the stones. Such a superficial scaling could eventually damage the temple relief if nothing was done about it, he said.

The conservation center has so far found 112 locations of seepage water on the temple stones since the completion of the restoration of Borobudur in 1983. They are spread out in the first gallery (81 locations), second gallery (six locations), third gallery (six locations) and fourth gallery (19 locations).

Further research conducted after the completion of the restoration revealed the seepage water happened due to various problems related to the lead sheet installed beneath the temple balustrade. The problems included lead sheet perforation, leaning position and improper installation.

The problem was, of the 112 locations found since 1983, only 12 of them have been successfully repaired during 1992 to 2001. What was concerning, according to Dukut, was not because the seepage water could not be stopped but instead it was mainly due to limited fund and human resources.

The Center of Borobudur Study and Conservation currently employs 114 civil servants and 30 employees paid by honorarium. Of the 114 civil servants, 54 are security guards, 50 are technicians, and the rest are administrative staffs. Unfortunately, most of them are going to retire in 2005, leaving only two security guards in 2007.

"I can imagine what would happen to the conservation works here when no one is left due to retirement," said Dukut, adding that he had tried to propose recruitment but so far he received no clear answer.

"This could create a serious problem in the future if nothing is done about it. We are dealing with a world heritage," Dukut said.

-- Sri Wahyuni