The Restoration of Prambanan Temple Enters a New Phase and Involves an Indian Archaeological Team

JAKARTA - Efforts to restore and preserve the Prambanan Temple area continue to be a concern of the government because the temple complex is one of the most important cultural heritage in Indonesia.

In addition to being a historical tourist destination, this area also has a high archaeological value that records the development of the Hindu civilization in the archipelago.

Various conservation measures continue to be carried out, including international cooperation to strengthen the process of restoring the temple structure that has been damaged.

In order to discuss the continuation of this cooperation, Minister of Culture Fadli Zon held a dialogue with the restoration team from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) at the Ministry of Culture Office, Senayan, Jakarta. This meeting discussed the follow-up plan for collaboration in the conservation and restoration of the Prambanan Temple complex.

Fadli emphasized that the preservation of the Prambanan area cannot be seen from only one temple building. According to him, the complex is part of a wider cultural landscape and is interconnected with a number of important sites around it, such as the Sewu Temple and the Plaosan Temple. The existence of these various sites reflects the interaction of Hindu and Buddhist cultures that once flourished in the Nusantara region.

"Prambanan Complex does not stand alone, but is part of a large cultural landscape along with Candi Sewu and Plaosan. Therefore, the conservation efforts we are doing are not only restoring the temple buildings, but also maintaining the entire cultural ecosystem in the area," said Fadli in his statement in Jakarta, as quoted by ANTARA.

Based on the results of the initial field visit in the Prambanan area, the ASI team assessed that several perwara temples still require further conservation steps. One of the approaches that are considered appropriate is the anastylosis method, which is a restoration technique by reconstructing the building using the original stones found at the site.

Through this method, the temple structure can be reconstructed by utilizing most of the original materials, while the use of new stones is only limited to strengthen the rebuilt structure.

However, the ASI team also noted challenges in the restoration process, especially regarding the many architectural stone components scattered in the site area. This condition makes the process of identifying the stone from each temple quite complicated so that it requires a documentation process and a careful grouping of stone typologies.

Therefore, the initial phase of the work is planned to focus on comprehensive data collection and documentation of the temple structure and stone components available at the site. To ensure the most appropriate method, the ASI team also proposed the implementation of a pilot project or pilot project on one or two perwara temples first.

The results of the pilot project will later become the basis for determining the most effective working method before the restoration process is applied more widely to other temple structures.

Responding to the exposure, Fadli expressed his appreciation for ASI's international experience in handling the conservation of various world heritage sites.

According to him, the Indonesian government is open to collaboration with various international parties that can support efforts to preserve cultural sites, especially in the Prambanan area.

He also added that technological developments can be used to support the conservation process, including digital technology and artificial intelligence to help identify and reconstruct the components of the temple stone.

"We are also open to utilizing technological developments, including digital approaches and artificial intelligence, to help identify and reconstruct the components of the temple stone," he said.

Furthermore, Fadli emphasized that the Indonesian government is committed to strengthening international cooperation in the preservation of world cultural heritage. He hopes that cooperation with ASI can be followed up through the preparation of technical documents and official cooperation mechanisms.

Meanwhile, ADG Conservation and World Heritage ASI, Janhwij Sharma, explained that his agency is an Indian archaeological institution that has been established since 1861. Currently, ASI manages thousands of historical monuments, including a number of sites with world heritage status.

In addition to conservation in India, ASI is also involved in various restoration projects abroad, including in Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Uzbekistan, and Mongolia.