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Dieng temples
Dieng temples (Indonesian: Candi Dieng) are a group of 7th and/or eighth-century Hindu candi or temple compounds located in Dieng Plateau, near Banjarnegara, Central Java, Indonesia. These edifices originate from the Kalingga Kingdom. The plateau is home to eight small Hindu temples that are among the oldest surviving religious structures ever built in Java and the earliest Hindu temples in Indonesia. The temples show many features of Indian Hindu temple architecture.
The real name of the temples, the history, and the king responsible for the construction of these temples were unknown. This is because of the scarcity of data and inscriptions connected to the construction of these temples. The local Javanese population named each temple according to Javanese wayang characters, mostly taken from the Mahabharata epic.
The Kailasa museum nearby contains many pieces of sculpture removed from the temples.
It is unclear when they were built, and were estimated to range from mid 7th century to the end of the 8th century CE; they are the oldest known standing stone structures in Central Java. They are originally thought to have numbered 400 but only eight remain after local farmers removed stone following the draining of the lake in the 19th century.
Examining the Javanese temple architectural styles, archaeologists grouped the Dieng temples within the Northern Central Javanese style, together with Gedong Songo temples, and to some extent also includes the East Javanese Badut temple, and West Javanese Cangkuang and Bojongmenje temple, and suggested that all of these temples are built within the same period, ranges from 7th to 8th century. An inscription discovered near Arjuna temple in Dieng was dated circa 808-809 CE, it was the oldest surviving specimen of old Javanese script, which revealed that the Dieng temple was continuously inhabited from mid 7th to early 9th century.
The Dieng temples were rediscovered in 1814 by a visiting British soldier who spotted temple ruins lying in the middle of a lake. At that time the plain surrounding the Arjuna cluster was flooded with water which formed a small lake. In 1856, Isidore van Kinsbergen led an effort to drain the lake to reveal the temples. The Dutch East Indies Government continued the reconstruction project in 1864, followed by further study and photographs taken by Van Kinsbergen. The temples are now believed to have been named after the heroes of the Hindu epic Mahabharata.
The temples are clustered around three groups; Arjuna, Dwarawati, and Gatotkaca clusters, while Bima temple was constructed as a separate single temple.
The main temple compound clustered around the Arjuna temple in the plain surrounded by mountains and hills. Arjuna cluster located in the central area of the Dieng plateau, consists of four temples that lined elongated in north-south direction. Arjuna temple is located at the north end, then successively to the south are the Srikandi, Puntadewa, and Sembadra temple. Right in front of Arjuna temple stands Semar temple. The four temples in this cluster face west, except for Semar temple which faces east right the opposite of Arjuna temple. This temple compound is the most intact compared to the other temple groups clustered in the Dieng area.
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Dieng temples
Dieng temples (Indonesian: Candi Dieng) are a group of 7th and/or eighth-century Hindu candi or temple compounds located in Dieng Plateau, near Banjarnegara, Central Java, Indonesia. These edifices originate from the Kalingga Kingdom. The plateau is home to eight small Hindu temples that are among the oldest surviving religious structures ever built in Java and the earliest Hindu temples in Indonesia. The temples show many features of Indian Hindu temple architecture.
The real name of the temples, the history, and the king responsible for the construction of these temples were unknown. This is because of the scarcity of data and inscriptions connected to the construction of these temples. The local Javanese population named each temple according to Javanese wayang characters, mostly taken from the Mahabharata epic.
The Kailasa museum nearby contains many pieces of sculpture removed from the temples.
It is unclear when they were built, and were estimated to range from mid 7th century to the end of the 8th century CE; they are the oldest known standing stone structures in Central Java. They are originally thought to have numbered 400 but only eight remain after local farmers removed stone following the draining of the lake in the 19th century.
Examining the Javanese temple architectural styles, archaeologists grouped the Dieng temples within the Northern Central Javanese style, together with Gedong Songo temples, and to some extent also includes the East Javanese Badut temple, and West Javanese Cangkuang and Bojongmenje temple, and suggested that all of these temples are built within the same period, ranges from 7th to 8th century. An inscription discovered near Arjuna temple in Dieng was dated circa 808-809 CE, it was the oldest surviving specimen of old Javanese script, which revealed that the Dieng temple was continuously inhabited from mid 7th to early 9th century.
The Dieng temples were rediscovered in 1814 by a visiting British soldier who spotted temple ruins lying in the middle of a lake. At that time the plain surrounding the Arjuna cluster was flooded with water which formed a small lake. In 1856, Isidore van Kinsbergen led an effort to drain the lake to reveal the temples. The Dutch East Indies Government continued the reconstruction project in 1864, followed by further study and photographs taken by Van Kinsbergen. The temples are now believed to have been named after the heroes of the Hindu epic Mahabharata.
The temples are clustered around three groups; Arjuna, Dwarawati, and Gatotkaca clusters, while Bima temple was constructed as a separate single temple.
The main temple compound clustered around the Arjuna temple in the plain surrounded by mountains and hills. Arjuna cluster located in the central area of the Dieng plateau, consists of four temples that lined elongated in north-south direction. Arjuna temple is located at the north end, then successively to the south are the Srikandi, Puntadewa, and Sembadra temple. Right in front of Arjuna temple stands Semar temple. The four temples in this cluster face west, except for Semar temple which faces east right the opposite of Arjuna temple. This temple compound is the most intact compared to the other temple groups clustered in the Dieng area.