SEAArch - The Southeast Asian Archaeology Newsblog

Another bumper edition of Wednesday Rojak - well, because I’ve been missing the previous week again. But this week is choc-full of posts from Angkor, Borobudur and other archaeology sites from Southeast Asia. Here they are in no particular order:

photo credit: soham_pablo
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Forget Angkor. Sure, it’s one of the largest religious monuments in the world, and you gotta admit that with spectacular architecture, sculpture and bas-reliefs there’s no wonder over two million people visited Cambodia last year. But the archaeological sites in Southeast Asian are so much more than the 11th century temple to Vishnu.

With some suggestions from the facebook group, SEAArch gives you the internet tour of five other spectacular archaeological sites in Southeast Asia open to the casual visitor – and three of them are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. So step in and take a look at some of the other great sites Southeast Asia has to offer - in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, and yes, even Singapore!

Note: The names in parentheses denote the nearest airport.

06 September 2007 (Reuters) - If you think Angkor falling victim to climate change was bad enough, today Reuters carries a story about how Borobudur is falling victim to the crazy weather as well. Reduce! Reuse! Recycle!

creative commons photo by elbisreverri

Global warming threatens Indonesia’s Borobudur temple
By Sugita Katyal and Adhityani Arga

Like any historical monument, Indonesia’s magnificent Borobudur temple in central Java has suffered the ravages of time.

But now conservationists fear the world’s biggest Buddhist temple, topped with stupas and decorated with hundreds of reliefs depicting Buddhist thought and the life of Buddha, faces a new threat: climate change.

As global temperatures rise and rainfall patterns change, the dark stone temple, which dates from the 9th century, could deteriorate faster than normal, Marsis Sutopo, head of the Borobudur Heritage Conservation Institute, told Reuters.

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It’s time again for another edition of Rojak! - a mix of entries trawled from the web about archaeology and Southeast Asia. In this edition, we visit temples in Indonesia, Thailand and Cambodia:

• Pigtales visits the Buddhist and Hindu complexes of Borobudur and Prambanan.
• Zheng He has a blog?! Yes, if you wish to know more about the famous Chinese admiral whose explorations took him as far west as East Africa, you can read more about him on My Wonderful Travellings.
• Thinking of visiting Thailand? You shouldn’t miss a trip to Ayuthuyya, the old kingdom of Siam. You can find a detailed map of the Ayutthaya Historical Park here.
• Adam Bryan-Brown posts a lenghty account about visiting the temples of Angkor entitled Marvellous Angkor.

Got a recommendation for the next Wednesday rojak? Email me!

04 June 2007 (Jakarta Post) - For this week at the Mangga Dua Square in Jakarta, shoppers will be treated to an exhibition on the greatest Buddhist monument in Southeast Asia, Borobudur.

Ancient past exhibited in mall

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For the next seven days starting Sunday, the seemingly distant topic of archaeology will be bridged by the exhibition, “Tracing the Nusantara civilization from the 9th to 12th centuries, Maha Karmawibhangga: The hidden legacy at the foot of Borobudur.”

“We want to bring this topic closer to the public and reveal things that previously remained exclusive to academics,” the Tourism and Culture Ministry’s head of cultural research and development, Junus Satrio Atmodjo, said last week.

The famed Borobudur serves as a lure to bring people in and pique their interest in Indonesia’s ancient past.

The timing of the exhibition was impeccable, with Buddhists commemorating Buddha’s Day of Enlightenment, or Waisak, the Friday before its opening.

Working with the Indonesia Sangha Conference, the ministry is putting on a full week of events as part of the exhibition, including art performances that will highlight the country’s rich cultural past.

In building Borobudur, the ancient civilization of Syailendra was thoughtful enough to provide a temple that would serve as a historical library for future generations.

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Read more about the Borobudur exhibition at Mangga Dua Square mall.

Books about the great Buddhist monument, Borobudur:
- The Restoration of Borobudur (World Heritage Series)
- The Lost Temple of Java (History/Journey’s Into the Past) by P. Grabsky
- The Mysteries of Borobudur: Discover Indonesia Series by J. N. Miksic
- Borobudur by L. Frederic and J. Nou
- Borobudur: Golden Tales of the Buddhas (Periplus Travel Guides) by J. Miksic
- The Magnificence of Borobudur by D. D. Burhan