Gedog Temple was mentioned in Raffles’ book, History of Java, published in 1817.

The Trowulan Cultural Heritage Preservation Center (BPCB) also decided that the site was worth excavating. It sent a team of archaeologists early this month to make initial observations of the site where a number of objects assumed to be fragments of an ancient temple were found by locals in the last few weeks.

An archaeologist of the center, Wicaksono Dwi Nugroho, said that based on the initial examination, the site appeared to be the location of an ancient temple.

“It’s quite possible that the temple was what Raffles called Gedog Temple, which he visited several years before History of Java was published,” Wicaksono told The Jakarta Post recently.

If this was true, he added, the temple must have been destroyed by earthquakes and major eruptions of Mount Kelud, which killed thousands of people in Blitar in 1901 and 1915.

The team of archaeologists conducted observations in seven spots around Punden Joko Pangon, including where the head of a statue of the God of Time, Kala, was found by a local farmer two weeks ago in his corn field located some 25 meters from Punden Joko Pangon.

Other spots investigated included formations of bricks and andesite stones thought to be the foundation and outer fence of the temple. The first phase of the planned excavation was slated for October this year.

Punden Joko Pangon is a plot of land some 400 square meters in size located in Gedog, the outermost subdistrict in the northeastern part of Blitar, some 3 kilometers from the downtown area.

In the middle of the site there was a big banyan tree where believers conducted a traditional nyadran ritual to ask for blessings or good fortune from the spirits of the villagers' ancestors believed to be living there.

The latest finding was made on Sept. 6 by a group of locals who uncovered a number of stones thought to be fragments of the ancient temple. Among the objects found was a stone with a relief depicting two women sitting.

Wicaksono said that stones with reliefs were characteristic of a temple. The carving of the two sitting women, he said, looked like ones in Jabung, Probolinggo, which was a legacy of the late 13th century Majapahit Kingdom.

Comparing the reliefs with those on another temple in East Java, the team thought they told the story of Sri Tanjung in the Panji epic of the Majapahit era.

Apart from the reliefs, locals also found stone mortars, carved stones and fragments of temple miniatures, adding to the various ancient artifacts found previously on the site.

Meanwhile, other findings of stones with reliefs, of yoni stones and of dragon head with ornaments also indicated that the temple that possibly had existed on the site was used for worship by a noble family.

“Yoni stone with dragon head ornaments is characteristic of a state temple,” Wicaksono said.

Subagyo, a local youth, said young people in Joko Pangon were enthusiastic about helping to find historic objects in the area. “We hope Gedog Temple can be found and becomes a source of pride,” Subagyo said.

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