SEAArch - The Southeast Asian Archaeology Newsblog » Borobudur

Part of Borobudur relief found

noelbynature — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 00:12:53 +0000

A relief that was supposedly part of Borobudur was returned to the temple custodians by a local villager.

Temple’s Relief Stone Studied
Tempo Interaktif, 26 January 2012

The Borobudur Temple Conservation Agency received an ancient relief stone found by a Mendalan villager in Magelang, yesterday.

The square stone was allegedly part of the temple’s relief. “We’ll conduct further study,” said Yudi Suhartono, the documentation and publication group work’s coordinator, yesterday.

Full story here.

Angkor Wat and Borobudur to be sister sites

noelbynature — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 14:21:10 +0000

The tourism departments of Indonesia and Cambodia are in discussions to make Angkor Wat and Borobodur sister sites, and promote bilateral tourism by opening air routes between the two cities.

photo credit: Justyn™

Angkor Wat, Borobudur temple to become sister sites, says official
Jakarta Post, 16 January 2012

Cambodia’s Angkor Wat temple in Siem Reap and Indonesia’s Borobudur temple in Central Java are to become sister sites, according to an official.

Head of Indonesian delegation I Gusti Putu Laksaguna said on Thursday that the proposal had been agreed by both Cambodian and Indonesian tourism ministers during a bilateral meeting at the ASEAN Tourism Forum at the Grand Kawanoa Convention Center in Manado, North Sulawesi.

Full story here.

Appeal for international help to preserve Borobudur

noelbynature — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 00:35:26 +0000

You may remember last year’s eruption of Mt Merapi caused a layer of corrosive ash to coat Borobudur. Conservation specialists working in Indonesia are now appealing for public funds to help with the cost of cleaning up the ash in the wake of the disaster. Readers interested in making a financial donation to help the preservation of Borobudur can make a donation on the official site here.

photo credit: swifant

Experts Racing Against Time To Preserve Borobudur Badly Damaged By Volcanic Eruption
Bernama, 06 April 2011

Emergency Intervention for the Safeguarding of the Borobudur World Heritage Site
Unesco Jakarta

Conservation experts are racing against time to preserve the Borobudur World Heritage Site which was severely damaged by a volcanic eruption in Indonesia last year – and authorities have issued a call for global financial assistance to help safeguard the historic site.

The site was badly damaged when the active volcano Mount Merapi erupted on Oct 26 last year, reports Antara news agency.

The Indonesian National Disaster Management Agency reported a month later that the eruption had killed 322, injured 776 and displaced 136,585 people who made a living from Mount Merapi’s fertile slopes.

Besides this catastrophic human toll, the volcano blanketed the surrounding areas in volcanic ash, posing a threat to ancient cultural icons such as the Borobudur Temple Compounds.

Asia's heritage sites strain under the weight of tourism

noelbynature — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 00:57:08 +0000

Tourism to ancient heritage sites is a major source of income for many Asian nations, but the signs of wear and tear to the monuments are fast becoming visible.

photo credit: bob|P-&-S

Tourist Boom Puts Asia’s Treasures at Risk
AFP, via Jakarta Globe, 08 March 2011

As the world recovers from the financial crisis and infrastructure in developing countries improves, the number of people drawn to Asiaâ€™s cultural and natural riches has exploded.

While this brings in much-needed revenue, observers fear that the growth in tourism is putting unprecedented pressure on precious and often fragile World Heritage sites.

At Angkor Wat, the most impressive of the parkâ€™s many temples, tourists are largely free to wander around the 12th-century complex, ignoring one-way signs and clambering over fallen stones.

Many lean against the ancient walls, while others trace delicate bas reliefs with their fingers.

â€œYou start to notice a little bit of wear and tear and youâ€™re not sure if itâ€™s from centuries of use or if itâ€™s from lots of tourists,â€ said Rona Soranno, 36, from California, after completing a tour of the templeâ€™s inner courtyard.

Her 33-year-old partner Marcus Welsh added: â€œOn the one hand itâ€™s totally awesome that I am able to step on the stones and be close to so much history, but you have to wonder what itâ€™s going to look like years from now.â€

A cleaned-up Borobudur to be ready by new year

noelbynature — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 00:35:51 +0000

The head of the Borobudur Heritage Conservation Association reports that the cleanup of the ancient monument will be completed in time for the new year.

photo credit: k0a1a.net

Borobudur Can Be Visited In New Year’s Holiday
Bernama, 29 November 2010

Borobudur temple, which was covered by Merapi ashes several days ago, was ready for being visited by tourists in New Year’s holiday, Indonesia’s Antara news agency quoted the Head of Borobudur Heritage Conservation Association Marsis Sutopo as saying here Sunday.

“We have targeted that volcanic ashes and sand can be cleared from the temple by mid-December. Therefore, in the New Year’s holiday, the guests can come to see Borobudur and step onto its 10th floor,” he said.

As a result of Mount Merapi’s eruptions, the volcanic ashes and sand covered Borobudur temple with a thickness of 2.5 centimeters.

The Borobudur Garden Tourism was closed during the ash rain due to the volcano’s eruptions from October to early November, he said.

Racing against time to clean up Borobudur

noelbynature — Thu, 25 Nov 2010 00:59:00 +0000

Authorities make the best with what they have in the cleanup of Borobudur from corrosive volcanic ash and the race to have everything open for the tourist season.

photo credit: k0a1a.net

Indonesia’s Borobudur Rising From the Ashes
Jakarta Globe, 21 November 2010

The major eruption of Mount Merapi on Nov. 5, which blanketed surrounding areas in volcanic ash, poses a serious and ongoing threat to ancient temple complexes such as Borobudur.

Officials are concerned the acidic soot will hasten the wearing of the temples, Borobudur in particular, which is covered in up to 3 centimeters of ash.

The site was closed to the public after the eruptions began on Oct. 26, while the government has sent workers in to clean up the temple complex.

â€œSince Nov. 11, weâ€™ve taken emergency action to keep Borobudur clear of ash by cleaning up 72 stupas and the main stupa, and wrapping them in plastic,â€ Junus Satrio Atmojo, the Culture and Tourism Ministryâ€™s head of historical and archeological sites, said Saturday.

Plastic wrap to Boroudur's rescue!

noelbynature — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 00:57:39 +0000

Well, not exactly plastic wrap in the sense of the stuff you find in the kitchen. The latest plan to protect Borobudur from the fallout ash from Mt Merapi is to cover the monument in plastic. But it seems that the 2,000 square metres of plastic that they already have isn’t quite enough to protect the site. I’m not exactly clear over how the plastic is supposed to protect the site. Are they going to lay a plastic tent over the monument? Or are they going to literally wrap each stupa with a layer of plastic? Anybody in the ground care to comment?

Soldiers cleaning Borobudur - Jakarta Globe 20101111

Plastic to Protect Indonesia’s Borobudur From Ravages of Merapi Ash
Jakarta Globe, 11 November 2010

With archeologists from all over the world worried about the damage Mount Merapiâ€™s acidic ash might do to Borobudur Temple, local conservationists have come up with a simple solution â€” wrap the world heritage site in plastic.

Marsis Sutopo, the head of the Borobudur conservation office, said on Thursday that the threat to the iconic ninth-century temple was the subject of much discussion among international experts.

â€œArchaeologists from the Netherlands, Japan and Australia have contacted us to offer help to overcome the impact of Mount Merapi on Borobudur Temple,â€ he said.

Marsis said the foreign archeologists had offered to come to Indonesia to inspect the temple after hearing it was being covered in volcanic ash.

â€œWe politely declined their generosity,â€ he said. â€œAlthough this is the first time weâ€™ve experienced this problem in the past century, we are confident that we can address the issue.

Volcanic ashfall covers parts of Borobudur

noelbynature — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 13:48:25 +0000

Volcanic ash from the eruption of Mt Merapi earlier this week has coated Borobudur in white; the authorities have closed parts of the Buddhist monument for about a week to sweep away the acidic ash.

Volcanic Ash a Threat to Borobudur
Jakarta Globe, 29 October 2010

Volcanic ash that has fallen like heavy rain onto a 9th-century temple complex is threatening one of Indonesia’s most popular tourist attractions, officials said Friday.

Parts of the famed Borobudur temples have been closed to the public so workers can clean off the blanket of white ash from Mount Merapi, which began erupting Tuesday.

Antiquities experts are concerned the acidic soot will speed the decay of the stones, said Marsis Sutopo, head of the temple conservation office.

Visitors can still enter the outside yard to the temples but won’t be able to go inside the gates until at least next week, officials said. A Mahakarya Borobudur traditional dance performance will go on as scheduled Saturday.

Yogyakarta's Hindu and Budddist temples

noelbynature — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 00:50:56 +0000

The Star’s travel feature on the two must-visit places when in Yogyakarta – Prambanan and Borobudur.

photo credit: hildo trazo

The temples of Yogyakarta have it
The Star, 04 September 2010

When in Yogyakarta, you donâ€™t want to miss Javaâ€™s twin gems of Hindu and Buddhist treasures â€” Prambanan and Borobudur.

…

A lot of restoration work has gone into Borobudur and especially Prambanan which suffered extensive damage after the May 2006 earthquake in Java. In fact, many of the inner temples are still out of bounds to visitors because they are not structurally safe.

…

Borobudur still impressed. Sure, it is nowhere as extensive as Angkor Wat but it has a certain charm of its own.

This 9th century Mahayana Buddhist monument has six square platforms topped by three circular platforms, and is decorated with 2,672 relief panels and 504 Buddha statues. The main dome located at the centre of the top platform is surrounded by 72 Buddhas.

Borobudur was restored between 1975 and 1982. The temple is 40km northwest of Jogja, and the view you get from the top is incredible. The whole valley sprawls below it as you take in the fantastic 360Â° view. There were many visitors when we were there but not too many. We still got that sense of calm and peace at the top.

Indonesian mathematics lecturer claims Islamic origin of borobudur

noelbynature — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 00:28:52 +0000

Starting off the new week with a laugh, here’s a silly story about an mathematics lecturer is claiming that Borobudur was built by Solomon’s “genie soldiers”… You can tell by the comments in the article that nobody is taking the claim seriously. The real question would be, how did this even get on the newspaper in the first place?

photo credit: ngotoh

Indonesian Academic Claims Borobudur Temple Is Islamic
Jakarta Globe, 02 September 2010

An obscure group led by an academic from a respected Islamic university in Indonesia is reportedly set to petition the Constitutional Court to declare that the Borobudur Temple in Central Java belongs to Islam.

Kompasiana.com reported that researchers from the Islam and Ancient History Study Institution, led by Fahmi Basya, an Islamic mathematics lecturer from Syarif Hidayatullah Islamic State University in Jakarta, claimed they had solid proof the Buddhist temple was built by the Prophet Solomonâ€™s â€œgenie soldiers.â€

Solomon, who according to the Hebrew Bible was a king of Israel, is known as the prophet Sulayman in the Koran.

According to the article, the researchers had connected Borobudur with the Kraton Ratu Boko (Queen Bokoâ€™s Palace) near the Hindu temple Prambanan in Central Java, claiming that Boko was actually another name for Queen Balqis, the wife of Sulayman.

The researchers, according to the news portal, said supporting evidence included new Islamic mathematical measurements created by Fahmi, which were known only to him.