There Are Four Megalithic Sites In South Sumatra, All Of Which Are Encouraged To Become UNESCO World Heritage

Findings of human statues in the Village of Rindu Hati, Gumay Ulu, Lahat, South Sumatra (Source: Disdikbud South Sumatra)

JAKARTA - The Archaeological Center of South Sumatra encourages the discovery of sites from the megalithic period in the four Pasemah cultural areas to be proposed to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to become a world heritage site because it has an extraordinary variety of traditional heritage.

Head of the South Sumatra Archaeological Center Budi Wiyana, Friday, December 25 in Palembang said that the megalithic sites scattered in the Pasemah cultural area, namely Lahat, Pagaralam, Empat Lawang and Muara Enim, are worthy of becoming world heritage sites.

"The finding of the megalith site in Lahat is number one in Indonesia and even the world has acknowledged it. We see that its potential is very good if developed and utilized," he said.

According to him, proposing megalithic sites to UNESCO must be carefully prepared and requires a strong commitment from the regional head. The proposal can be made by a combination of the four regional governments and the South Sumatra Provincial Government.

He considered it would be better if the proposed world heritage was in the form of the Pasemah cultural area which includes the four regions and is not separated. If the area becomes a world heritage, he said, South Sumatra's tourism potential could be opened up to the international level.

He said he assessed the charm and historical value of megalith sites in South Sumatra on par with megalith sites in other countries that were previously famous. Because, he said, these sites had actually been studied since the Dutch were still occupying South Sumatra.

Even so, until now the efforts of the local government to package and develop the existence of these sites so that the branding is stronger has not been maximal. He said the findings of megalithic cultural sites in the form of statues, mortar stones, stone mortars, stone graves, and stone chambers are currently the most common in Lahat Regency so that they got the MURI record as the owner of the most megalithic sites in 2012.

However, he believes there are still hundreds of undiscovered sites that are likely to spread in Pagaralam City, Empat Lawang Regency to Muara Enim because the area is believed to be the origin of human life in South Sumatra since 3,000 years ago.

"It could be that these sites are in the bush, because if you look at the latest findings in December, the locations are in old villages where their residents live," he said.

His party is ready to assist the local government in its efforts to propose the megalithic site to become a UNESCO world heritage. Currently his party has also deployed a team to review the findings of the two latest statues.

Meanwhile, the Paranomic Of Lahat Culture and Tourism Institute, which has recorded megalith findings since 2009, has recorded that there are a thousand megalithic remains, from statues to stone booths, scattered in 54 sites in Lahat Regency, Budi Wiyana said.