Bảo tàng lịch sử Quốc gia

An excursion by local school children in historic Yogyakarta unearthed evidence that could indicate the existence of a temple that local legend holds was called Ngablak, archeologists said on Thursday.

Indung Panca Putra, head of a task force established by the Yogyakarta Archeological Preservation Agency, told the Jakarta Globe on Thursday that they were analyzing hundreds of samples of stones, some of which appeared to be relief panels, or carved stones.

The panels were discovered by local secondary school students on a field trip as they crossed the Opak River in Ngablak, Sleman, about one kilometer from the Sewu and Prambanan temple complexes.

Sewu is an 8th-century Buddhist temple, and the second-largest Buddhist temple in Central Java after Borobudur. It is located less than a kilometer north of Prambanan, a ninth-century Hindu temple.

Paryono, the school’s principal, said the students were drawn to inspect the unusual rocks. “They were everywhere along the river and embankment,” Paryono said.

He said that while some of the stones were carved, others looked like ordinary rocks.

“Some had carvings like the stones on a temple,” Paryono said, adding that the school had immediately reported the discovery to the preservation agency.

Panca said the agency had records regarding the possibility of a significant archeological site where the stones were found. Local legend has it that Ngablak was named after the ancient temple.

To aid their quest, the preservation agency was undertaking further research to analyze 200 pieces of stone found at the location, including a number with ornamental reliefs in the shapes of lines and semicircles.

The researchers confirmed that the rocks were different from those used in the construction of the Prambanan and Sewu temple complexes, and it was assumed they came from a site from a different period. However, Panca warned that the research is still far from conclusive.

Ary Adji