Questionable findings at Gunung Padang– an enormous Indonesian pyramid sitting on top of an ancient volcano– might turn whatever we believed we understood about prehistory on its head. If the findings hold true, Gunung Padang reveals that Ice Age people had innovative innovation, unlike anything we might have pictured.
Mainstream archeologists are hesitant of these conclusions, and lots of have actually attempted to reject the geologist at the center of them. That geologist is Caltech scientist Danny Hilman Natawidjaja, who has actually dedicated much of his life to a thorough geo-archeological study of this unbelievable website.
In this short article, we check out the archeological marvel of Gunung Padang and why Natawidjaja thinks it’s evidence of an advanced civilization that grew approximately 27,000 years earlier.
When was Gunung Padang Discovered?
Gunung Padang, situated in Cianjur, West Java, Indonesia(Credit: Ade Lukmanul Hakimmm/Shutterstock)
The contemporary story of Gunung Padang starts in the late 19th century when Dutch inhabitants initially ended up being conscious of the magnificent pyramid simply 4 hours south of Jakarta near to the town of Karyamukti.
According to the writing of Dutch historian Rogier Verbeek in 1891, “on the mountain leading Goenoeng Padang, near Goenoeng Melati, a succession of 4 balconies, linked by actions of rough stone, paved with rough flat stones and embellished with various sharp and columnar upright andesite stones. On each balcony, a little mound, most likely a tomb, surrounded and covered with stones and topped with 2 pointed stones. In 1890, gone to by Mr. De Corte.”
Naturally, long before the Dutch East India Company brought slavery and manifest destiny to West Java, regional occupants understood about Gunung Padang and its manufactured stone balconies. Revering it as ‘The Mountain of Enlightenment,’ residents still carry out magical events at the website, which includes a freshwater spring at its base.
For almost a century, mainstream archeologists disregarded Gunung Padang. In 1979, a group of close-by farmers brought more attention to the mountain. Quickly, the website ended up being the focus of Indonesian scientists and archeologists.
Is Gunung Padang the Oldest Pyramid on the planet?
Extended rock developments stacked together at the megalithic website of Gunung Padang (Credit: Upen supendi/Shutterstock)
Given that the 1980s, a variety of extensive studies have actually been carried out at Gunung Padang, however scientists continue to disagree about its age. Some claim that the stone building and constructions go back to the very first millennium A.D., and pottery pieces from the website were dated to 45 B.C.E to 22 C.E
Another camp thinks that Gunung Padang’s age is older. In 1982, B.M. Kim dated the website to 300 to 2000 B.C.E. Even these price quotes are moderate compared to the most stunning assessment of them all– that the inmost layers of Gunung Padang are 16,000 years to 27,000 years old. That would make Gunung Padang the earliest pyramid on the planet.
This theory– that Gunung Padang goes back to the Ice Age– is based upon the work of geologist Danny Hilman Natawidjaja and his multidisciplinary group of researchers, archeologists, and volunteers. From 2011 to 2014, Natawidjaja and his partners performed various field research studies at Gunung Padang consisting of ground permeating radar, core drilling, and radiocarbon analysis.
With particular regard to the upper layer of Gunung Padang, Natawidjaja states he concurs with the conclusions of B.M. Kim.
“The approximated age of 300 to 2,000 B.C.E. by B.M. Kim in 1982 aligns with our findings as it most likely represents the stone balconies,” states Natawidjaja. He keeps in mind that there’s another story to Gunung Padang when you take a look at the much deeper layers of building.
Find out more: The Oldest Ancient Wonder Still Exists Today, 4,500 Years Later
How the Indonesian Pyramid of Gunung Padang was Built
Ancient stone from Gunung Padang website (Credit: Inpics/Shutterstock)
According to Natawidjaja, the information that supports their findings reveals that the Gunung Padang pyramid is a bit like a three-layer cake, and each layer was constructed countless years apart. He states the most current layer, called Unit-1, was built about 3,000 years to 4,000 years back. The next earliest, Unit-2, was constructed around 7,500 years to 8,000 years back. The earliest part of the structure, Unit-3, might be as ancient as 16,000 years to 27,000 years. This supports the research study done by B.M Kim, which recommended the pyramid goes back to in between 300 and 2,000 B.C.E.
Surprisingly, Natawidjaja states, “Unit-2 might possibly be a stepped pyramid.”
In his 2023 research study of the website, he describes that Gunung Padang is more than simply an old stone balcony; it’s an intricate structure buried underground including big chambers and hollow areas. The carbon dating recommends that the preliminary building and construction might have happened throughout the last Ice Age, in the Paleolithic age, and was later on customized in the Holocene or Neolithic age.
Natawidjaja’s group concerned these conclusions by comparing the ages of samples from the volcanic base layer (which is countless years of ages) and the 3 layers of building and construction.
“In contrast [to the volcano]soil samples drawn from in between fragmented rocks have actually been dated to just a few thousand to a couple of 10s of countless years of ages, which provides an enigma in natural geological procedures,” states Natawidjaja. “Geological concepts determine that soils can not move from the near-surface layers to much deeper depths with time. The juxtaposition of reasonably young soils in between ancient rock layers positions a considerable geological obstacle.”
The conclusion: Only a technically innovative culture throughout the Ice Age might have placed those stones. Acknowledging the effect of the findings, Natawidjaja when informed The Sydney Morning Herald“It’s insane, however it’s information.”
The Gunung Padang Controversy: A Clash of History and Science
If real, the findings at Gunung Padang modification whatever we believed we understood about the technological abilities of human beings in ancient times. Supposedly, this is when human beings were just efficient in developing little, short-term shelters out of wood, bone, and animal hides– not megalithic stone structures or stepped pyramids on the scale of Giza in Egypt.
This is what we discover at Gunung Padang, where thousands of big stone pieces were transferred from another area and skillfully set up in a grand work of masonry that appears to be 6 times older than the Pyramid of Giza, and that’s why the website is questionable.
Learn more: Whatever Worth Knowing About the Giza Pyramids
The Gunung Padang Hoax
Some traditional academics are munching at the bit to refute Natawidjaja’s conclusions as ‘fantastical’ or ‘marvelous’– some even calling it the “Gunung Padang scam.”
University of Tarragona Researcher Víctor Pérez, composed an in-depth paper challenging Natawidjaja’s findings. The paper slams Natawidjaja’s technique, explaining what some researchers and academics view as defects and errors in both the execution and theoretical analysis of their research study. Pérez argues that these concerns weaken the trustworthiness of the ancient dates recommended by Natawidjaja’s group, which he declares absence corroborating historical proof.
Another opposing view originates from teacher Sutikno Bronto of the Center of Geological Survey in Indonesia. He thinks that Gunung Padang is the neck of a close-by volcano and not an ancient pyramid.
Sutikno argues that the findings of more youthful soil layers amongst older stones and the carbon-dated product at the website do not validate Natawidjaja’s claims. He recommends these are outcomes of natural disintegration, not indications of human architectural activity.
What Is the Truth About Gunung Padang?
Natawidjaja worried that his group’s research study and studies were multidisciplinary (not merely volcanological), and while volcanic invasion was certainly present, there’s more to the story.
“Our extensive research study, that includes geological, historical, and geophysical studies, certainly verified the presence of the underground ‘volcanic invasion’ […] lining up with Sutikno’s observations,” Natawidjaja states. “However, our findings likewise present engaging proof that challenges the understanding of Gunung Padang as just the neck of a close-by volcano.”
When it comes to the carbon-dated cement discussed by Sutikno, Natawidjaja likewise had other ideas.
“Our research study conclusively shows that it is certainly a mortar, not a by-product of natural weathering. Our group of skilled geologists has actually diligently taken a look at and examined the samples, leaving no space for doubt concerning their origin,” states Natawidjaja.
Digging Deeper Into Gunung Padang’s Chambers
Regardless of the pushback, Natawidjaja appears to invite those who challenge his findings. He mentions that the core samples his group surveyed from Gunung Padang in Indonesia reveal that the website deserves much deeper examination.
The concept of digging much deeper is a lot more fascinating since Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR), geo-electric (Electric Resistivity Tomography), seismic tomography, and core drillings have actually currently exposed what seem buried chambers and tunnels. Are these just caves produced by volcanic procedures? Or, are these deeply concealed Gunung Padang chambers like the ones buried inside the Pyramid of Giza? Just a thoroughly managed excavation can inform us for sure.
In the meantime, something is specific, the secrets that veil this amazing Javanese website will continue to astonish and catch the creativities of future generations to come. For this factor, you may wish to trek to the top of this archeological marvel with a cold thermos of Java Robusta the next time you’re travelling through Indonesia.
Find out more: Secret 30-Foot Long Chamber In The Great Pyramid Discovered