R

esearchers led by a presidential aide have postponed their planned excavation of the Mount Padang megalithic site in Cianjur, West Java, an archeologist has said.

'We decided to postpone our plan to excavate the site because we want to describe our plan in as detailed a manner as possible to the public, to avoid misunderstanding,' Ali Akbar, a University of Indonesia archeologist and member of the research team, told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.

The dig, to have been led by Andi Arief, a special assistant to the President for disaster mitigation and social assistance, was halted on fears of landslides and damage to what might be Southeast Asia's biggest megalithic sites.

The team had been excavating the area around Mt. Padang since 2011, searching for ancient structures that they claimed might be older than the Great Pyramid of Giza, suggesting that civilization in Indonesia began much earlier than currently assumed.

Their preliminary findings were met with criticism and objections from geologists and archaeologists.

Ali said that the cancelled dig had been intended to dispel skepticism and create support for the project. He claimed more than 1,000 people had applied to join the project.

'We basically invited everybody to join, including people with a background in economics, who may be able to help find the economic potential of the site and people from tourism industry, who can give their opinion on the site's tourism values,' Ali said.

Others have criticized the plan, saying that it might harm the site, which has been protected under Law No. 11/2010 on Cultural Heritage.

Last week, more than 700 people, including a host of archeologists and geologists, sent a petition to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, asking him to save the megalithic site from excavation.

'The site is not ready to welcome a great number of visitors,' Mundardjito, a representative of the Indonesian Archeologists Association, told the Post on Sunday. 'It contradicts conservation ethics. We are very concerned that the site could be damaged.'

Ali, however, said that the 100 archeologists who volunteered to join the team could ensure a safe excavation. 'People are concerned that we will damage the cultural heritage site, when in fact we will only excavate areas beside the heritage site, which is protected under the law. We will not touch the protected site at all.'

Earlier, Surya Helmi, a former government museums official, said that the team found a 4.2-meter crack on a 60 degree slope on the site.

'If rain keeps pouring, it is possible that we will have a landslide,' Surya said as quoted by kompas.com.