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Relics from World War II recovered from Bengawan Solo River
A researcher said the sinking of a pontoon bridge that connected the northern region of Lamongan with Gresik took place during battles between Japanese and Allied forces early in World War II.
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Two of the newly recovered World War II bridge pontoons are being lifted onto a truck on Nov. 7. (JP/Asip Hasani)
T
he recent discovery of boat-shaped artifacts assumed to be part of a pontoon bridge left by the Dutch East Indies colonial government in the Bengawan Solo River in Lamongan, East Java, are reminders of how Allied forces were initially defeated in the Southeast Asian theater during World War II.
The sunken pontoons had been found by sand miners in Mertani village, Lamongan regency, East Java in early October after a prolonged dry season led to an unusual drop of water levels in the river.
Archaeologists said the American-British-Dutch-Australian (ABDA) Command, which was attempting to prevent the southward advance of Japanese forces, probably ordered the sinking of the pontoon bridge shortly after the Japanese began their invasion of Java in early 1942.
The three boat-shaped pontoons pulled from the longest river on Java would have served to support the bridge's platform. Made of steel, each pontoon measured 7.6 meters long, 1.55 m wide and 0.77 m tall.
“To cross the Bengawan Solo River, supposedly dozens of these components were needed, but we have only found three units,” said Abi Kusno from the Education and Culture Ministry's Cultural Heritage and Museum Preservation Directorate (PCBM), which funded the recovery.
On the hulls of the pontoons were printed "MEB-6".
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