• Brunei’s archaeology does not get nearly enough attention.⠀
⠀
For this bonus post, I’m looking at Kota Batu Archaeological Park, the site of Brunei’s old capital. It is not a spectacular ruin in the usual sense — no towering temples, no monumental gateways — but its fragments tell a fascinating story: tombs, ceramics, sandstone pillar bases, river defences, house posts, imported wares, and traces of a working port city.⠀
⠀
Kota Batu shows Brunei not as a quiet corner of Southeast Asian archaeology, but as part of the maritime world that linked Borneo with China, Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines and beyond.
  • This week’s Southeast Asian Archaeology newsletter is about movement, adaptation, and why archaeology is rarely as tidy as we pretend.⠀
⠀
Inside:⠀
🏹 a new review of bow-and-arrow evidence from India to Oceania⠀
🪙 a study of how Roman materials were filtered and remade in Southeast Asia⠀
🌊 new work on maritime links between Angkor and China during the megadrought period⠀
⠀
Also this week: Angkor palace waterworks, the Cẩm An shipwreck, and the reopening of Phimai National Museum.⠀
⠀
Link in bio / https://bit.ly/4dV88wS ⠀
#SoutheastAsianArchaeology #Archaeology #Heritage #Angkor #Vietnam #Thailand #Cambodia #AncientTrade #MaritimeArchaeology
  • New this week in Southeast Asian Archaeology: the Plain of Jars, trade beads, burial rituals, Philippine obsidian, coastal watchtowers, public archaeology, and a museum rethink of the galleon trade.⠀
⠀
The lead story is a new paper from Laos, where one huge jar at Site 75 contained the remains of at least 37 people and hints at a long, careful mortuary tradition. From there, the issue moves across the region, with a particularly strong run of stories from the Philippines on exchange networks, local histories, and the stories archaeology tells in public.⠀
⠀
Jars, beads, boats, and the occasional inconvenient fact. https://bit.ly/3RqKWyW ⠀
⠀
#SoutheastAsianArchaeology #Archaeology #Heritage #Laos #Philippines #Museums #PublicHistory
  • This week: Đồng Dương, ancient Champa, broken bricks, border temples, Buddhist architecture on the move, and a reminder that archaeology is rarely just about the past.⠀
⠀
Link in bio / read here: https://bit.ly/4ePHSpL ⠀
⠀
#SoutheastAsianArchaeology #DongDuong #Champa #Vietnam #Cambodia #Thailand #Myanmar #Archaeology #Heritage
  • This week in Southeast Asian Archaeology: a remarkable burial find in Phetchaburi, an old perahu under review in Kelantan, and the Po Nagar festival in Vietnam as a case of living heritage in action. ⠀
⠀
https://bit.ly/48PAeI5 ⠀
⠀
#archaeology #southeastAsia #southeastasianarchaeology
  • The Ayala Museum’s Gold of Ancestors exhibition showcases over a thousand gold objects, many originating from Butuan and the Surigao Treasure and generally dated to the 10th–13th centuries CE. These pieces demonstrate the Philippines’ participation in extensive regional trade networks and the high level of craftsmanship achieved before Spanish colonisation.

#southeastasianarchaeology #philippines #ayalamuseum #surigao #butuan
  • A quick visit to the National Museum of the Philippines earlier this week, particularly to the National Museum of Anthropology. Here are my 5 highlights.

Have you been to the National Museum in Manila? What are your favourite pieces?

#manila #philippines #nationalmuseum #archaeology #southeastasianarchaeology
  • From Angkor wall repairs and Óc Eo museum plans to Preah Vihear restoration politics and Sulawesi cliff burials, this week’s newsletter rounds up Southeast Asian archaeology with context. Subscribe for the stories behind the headlines.

https://bit.ly/4w8870M
  • 20 years ago I started Southeast Asian Archaeology with a few blog posts.⠀
It somehow turned into a weekly newsletter read around the world.⠀
Reflections, AMA, and what readers want next: ⠀
https://bit.ly/4cNZVKi⠀
  • New finds lead this week’s Southeast Asian Archaeology newsletter: possible Khmer temple remains in Mondulkiri and Korat, a prehistoric settlement in Lào Cai dating to around 2000–1500 BCE, and wooden stakes in Hoa Lư that may yet reshape how we think about the Trần-era landscape.⠀
⠀
https://bit.ly/3QomnlM
Friday, June 5, 2026
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Hindus sanctify Prambanan Temple after 1,163 years

26 November 2019
in Indonesia
Tags: architectureHinduismPrambanan Temple ComplexUnesco World HeritageYogyakarta (city)
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Hindu rituals at Prambanan. Source: Antara News 20191112

Hindu rituals at Prambanan. Source: Antara News 20191112

via Antara News, 12 November 2019: Hindus assemble in Prambanan temple to sanctify the site – after 1163 years to the exact day the temple was first established.

Hundreds of Hindus across Indonesia performed the Abhiseka ritual of sanctification for the first time in 1,163 years, at the Prambanan Temple located between Sleman, Yogyakarta, and Klaten, Central Java, Tuesday. “After we discovered the inscription written on the day the temple was established, which is November 12, 856 AD, along with rituals conducted, Hindus then prepared to perform the same ritual. So it is basically to commemorate temple’s inauguration by Rakai Pikatan Dyah Seladu back in that year,” Made Astra Tanaya, a member of the committee that performed the Abhiseka, said.

Abhiseka is also held to denote the golden era of the old Mataram Kingdom, which was not conducted earlier since Hindus usually performed the Tawur Agung ritual to sanctify human beings and the universe.

The ritual of Abhiseka is considered a turning point in returning the energy for both human beings and Mother Nature, said Tanaya, who officiates as the coordinator of the Indonesian Parisada Hindu Dharma (PDHI) Yogyakarta.

Source: Hindus sanctify Prambanan Temple after 1,163 years – ANTARA News

See also:

  • Well done Indonesia – Indonesians restore 1100-year-old Hindu temple | TFI Post, 16 Nov 2019

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