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Special team to save damage Trowulan site
The government has set up a special team to investigate the extent of damage caused by construction at the ancient site of the Majapahit Kingdom in Mojokerto, East Java
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he government has set up a special team to investigate the extent of damage caused by construction at the ancient site of the Majapahit Kingdom in Mojokerto, East Java.
The team will report back to the government any recommendations into how the site can be repaired.
The University of Indonesia archeologist Agus Aris Munandar, who attended a government-led meeting to discuss this issue in Jakarta on Thursday, said the team will include experts from various fields, including architects and archeologists.
The government has been under fire for "accidentally" constructing the Majapahit Information Center on land believed to be home to the city ruins of the Majapahit Kingdom.
"The construction of the center has now been halted. The government admits the construction caused damage to the site and has agreed to find another location for the building," Agus said.
"We are still considering whether or not to leave the damaged site as it is, for risk of causing further damage, or to in fact commence renovation efforts."
In a move to restore the glorious former image of Majapahit, an eastern Java-based kingdom which from the 14th to 15th centuries dominated the seas of Southeast Asia (present day Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines), the government began construction of the center last November.
The center was to be a hub for information on Majapahit, with a number of artifacts and relics from the era to be displayed to promote the country's cultural and historical past.
The 2,200 square meter center was going to be built on the Trowulan site in Mojokerto, the only major remaining Majapahit city ruins and the heart of the former kingdom.
However, it was later built on empty land near the excavated site which actually contained large sections of original ruins. The construction of 60 large pylons for the center's foundations subsequently caused damage to the ancient ruins.
Agus said local archeologists earlier predicted the ancient city of Majapahit at the Trowulan site stretched from around 20 square kilometers in some parts to around 100 square kilometers in others.
The center was, however, constructed within the smaller 20 square kilometer range.
