Researchers have discovered a massive pyramid-shaped structure hidden under layers of crumbling ruins dating back tens of thousands of years in Indonesia. If this is true, this statement may force us to rewrite human history…
Illustration of the reconstruction of the ancient site of Gunung Padang. (Photo via Pinterest)
Geologist Dr. Danny Hilman is a senior geologist at Indonesia’s Geotechnical Research Center. He said the Gunung Padang megalithic site in West Java province, Indonesia is revered by people because it hides an ancient temple built 9,000 to 20,000 years ago, according to Daily Mail.
The Gunung Padang megalith site was discovered in 1914 and is the largest site of this type of structure in Indonesia. The area is nestled among volcanoes, banana bushes and tea plantations at an altitude of 885m above sea level, about 120km south of Jakarta.
Gunung Padang megalithic site in West Java province, Indonesia. (Photo via Pinterest)
Blocks of volcanic rock rise from the terraced hillside. The Sundanese people living here believe that these rocks are extremely sacred.
According to Dr. Hilman, this site is culturally important because it is an ancient pyramid built 9,000 – 20,000 years ago. He also commented that this work had a high possibility of being built for worship purposes or to research astronomy.
If this is true, prehistoric people would have moved volcanic rock blocks up steps built into the mountainside, then stacked them on top of each other to create pyramids. This can be considered a great feat of ancient engineering.
Aerial photo shows the top of Gunung Padang hill, deep inside which is a huge structure built in prehistoric times. (Photo: Danny Hilman Natawidjaja)
Dr. Hilman believes that the structure of the pyramid structure lies underground.
According to the ‘Sydney Morning Herald’, after excavations, Dr. Hilman’s research team declared the surface of Gunung Padang to be “the largest megalithic structure in Southeast Asia”.
The excavations were also supported by the Indonesian government. Former Indonesian President Yudhoyono said that this excavation is “a historic task with important value for humanity”. In addition, it also helps archeology retrieve a number of artifacts from ancient times.
Dr. Hilman affirmed: “People think that prehistory is a primitive, underdeveloped period, but this relic proves that notion wrong.”
He believes that such a pyramid is obviously man-made, and this proves that there once existed an extremely splendid ancient civilization in Java.
The rocks may have been held together with an ancient glue. (Photo via Pinterest)
Some of the rocks were originally held together by an ancient form of glue and have been carbon dated to around 7,000 BC.
Dr. Hilman said the ruins hide rows of walls, rooms and stairs leading from the terrace to below, evidence that this was a complex structure.
The steps are surrounded by stone retaining walls, up to 400 steps with a height of about 95m. The structure is covered with huge rectangular blocks of volcanic origin. Many geoelectrical surveys, application of test samples and ground penetrating radar methods have been conducted.
From here, Dr. Hilman confirmed that this terraced hill is 100m thick and is made up of many layers. He said that up to now, man-made structures discovered have reached a depth of 15m underground.
Experts determined the age of the rock blocks located 3m and 4m below the ground surface to be about 6,500 years old and 12,500 years old, respectively.
However, Dr. Hilman’s findings were met with fierce controversy from other researchers. 34 Indonesian archaeologists and geologists submitted a petition criticizing the project’s methods and motives.
They believed that excavation would threaten the preservation of the site’s original state, and felt extremely uncomfortable with the participation of civilian archaeologists in the excavation.
Volcanologist Sutikno B Toronto believes that this structure is not a pyramid at all, but the throat of an old volcano, and that the stones examined were weathered by nature and not must be cut by humans.
Although there is still much controversy, the evidence of an advanced ancient civilization that once existed in this area still confuses many people.
Simulating the terrain of Gunung Padang area. (Photo via Salik.biz)
According to Darwin’s theory of evolution, humanity has had civilization for no more than 10,000 years, before that it was still primitive, not yet evolved and intelligent. If what Dr. Hilman asserts is true, then this will be a huge challenge to this theory, and human history may need to be rewritten.