Ancient stupa found in E. Java

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Tue, 01/10/2012 11:52 AM


A resident of Nganjuk, East Java, has found a stupa made of red clay that is believed to date back to the Kutai Kartanegara Sultanate in the 13th century.

Trosenin, 66, who lives in Tembarak village, Kertosono district of Nganjuk regency, said on Tuesday that he found the item in the house yard after dreaming about an old man with long beard who told him to dig on the land at the yard.

“I dug the land and found this stuff,” he was quoted by antaranews.com as saying.

The stupa was no longer intact. The upper part was broken, as were the left and right sides. The stupa looked like the dome of a mosque, with the height of 0.5 meters and diameter of about 10 centimeters. It was made of red clay with a batik motif.

A village official, Sumanto, said that the Kutai Kertanegara Sultanate in the 13th century reigned over the area, as seen at the site of Pemujaan Temple located about 500 meters from the place where the stupa was found. The temple had been moved by the relevant agency to a nearby museum.

Mooi!