An Ancient Pyramid? The World’s Largest Buddhist Temple: Borobudur, Indonesia

Hello everybody and welcome to Ancient Architects. Please subscribe now to get the latest ancient history news and independent research from around the world. This amazing ancient temple in central Java, Indonesia is one of the most incredible ancient wonders of the world. What we are looking at is the site of Borobudur, the world's largest Buddhist temple, likely built between 760 and 830 AD, during the Sailendra Dynasty's rule over the Mataram Kingdom. Folklore says that someone named Gunadharma was responsible for its construction, a temple that was likely made by order of the king. Borobudur consists of nine stacked platforms, six of which are square and three circular, with a central dome sat on top. It is decorated with an incredible 2,672 relief panels and 504 statues of Buddha, including 72 that surround the central dome, each seated inside a perforated stupa. It looks like a step pyramid, but is built like a single giant stupa, and when viewed from above, it looks like a giant tantric Buddhist mandala, representing the Buddhist cosmology and the mind. The foundations are square, measuring 387 feet on each side. Approximately 55,000 cubic meters of andesite stone was worked from neighbouring quarries to build it. The stone was cut to size, transported to the site, and each block was laid down without any mortar. Knobs, indentations and dovetails were used to give the structure precise joints and structural integrity. I'll look into this in more detail in the future. A very comprehensive drainage system was incorporated into its design, and this is because certain areas feel the brunt of stormwater runoff. 100 spouts are installed at each corner, each with a unique carved gargoyle in the shape of a giant or makara dragon. The origins of the name of the temple are unclear. It was first written in Raffle's book on Javan history, but there are no old documents that refer to the name Borobudur. An old Javanese document that was written in 1365 hints that it once could have been called Budur, a holy Buddhist sanctuary, but this is not certain. The temple design follows the traditional Javanese Buddhist architectural style, which blends the Indonesian indigenous cult of ancestor worship and the Buddhist concept of attaining nirvana. The temple also shows an influence of Gupta art showing how the region was influenced by India, yet because of the iconography at the temple, including specific indigenous scenes and elements, there is no question that Borobudur is very much Indonesian. It's no surprise that today, this is an important site for Buddhist pilgrimage, because the whole monument is a shrine to the Buddha. On arrival, the pilgrim's journey starts at the base of the structure and follows a path around the monument, ascending to the top through different levels that are symbolic in Buddhist cosmology. The first level is called Kamadhatu, meaning the world of desire. The next is Rupatadu, meaning the world of forms, and then Arupadhatu, which is the world of formlessness. There is an extensive system of stairs and corridors, decorated with narrative relief panels on the walls and balustrades. Interestingly, the enormous temple also has the largest and most complete ensembles of Buddhist reliefs in the world. Borobudur has also been extensively excavated and restored, and all evidence points to its construction taking place in the 8th or 9th century AD. It was abandoned following the 14th century decline of the Hindu kingdoms of Java, and then the Javanese conversion to Islam in the 15th century. For centuries it was neglected, and then hidden under layers of volcanic ash and jungle overgrowth. There was only renewed interest in the site in 1814, when native Indonesians told the British ruler of Java, Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles of its location. 200 men were instructed to cut down trees, to burn vegetation and dig away the earth to reveal the huge magnificent temple. Since then, several restoration projects have taken place, the largest of which was done between 1975 and 1982 by UNESCO and the Indonesian government. After that, the site was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and it is certainly worthy of such an honour. Sadly, the site has been subject to a lot of In 1896, the King of Siam removed 8 cartloads of sculptures from Borobudur, including 5 Buddha images, 2 lions, 1 gargoyle, 30 pieces from relief panels and more. Some of these artefacts are now on display in the National Museum in Bangkok. The natural landscape around this man-made wonder is also worth noting. Borobudur is located on an elevated area situated between two volcanoes, Sundaro Sumbling and Merbabu Merapi, as well as two rivers, the Ello and the Progo. The region is a sacred place, known as the Garden of Java because of the agricultural fertility of the plain. The eruption of Mount Merapi heavily affected Borobudur in 2010, when a layer of ash, up to 2.5cm in thickness, fell on the temple and also destroyed the surrounding vegetation. Thanks to a $3 million donation from UNESCO, the site was cleaned and checked over. Thousands of stone blocks had to be dismantled to restore the drainage system, a huge job to ensure the monument survived. Interestingly, Borobudur is one of three Buddhist temples in the region, all of which are positioned in a straight line. This implies a possible ritual landscape, a relationship between the three temples, but exactly what this was we may never know. Some archaeologists speculate that a lake once surrounded the main temple. Dutch artist and scholar of Hindu and Buddhist architecture, W. O. J. Nieuwenkamp, developed a hypothesis that the plain that the structure sits on was once a lake, and once built, the Borobudur temple represented a lotus flower floating on the lake. Like the Great Pyramid of Egypt, this temple is built onto a bedrock hill, which is 869 feet above sea level and 49 feet above the floor of the now dried out Paleo Lake. The history of Borobudur is far from complete, and however it once looked in antiquity, pictures from the air today certainly show that it does retain the wow factor. It is enormous and beautiful, one of the greatest archaeological sites in Southeast Asia, and also the single most visited tourist attraction in Indonesia. Like all the sites I've been discussing in the past two weeks, there is so much more detail I could go into. The meanings behind so many of the carved panels, the controversial history since it was discovered, the archaeological relics from the site that are now in museums around the world, and how this UNESCO World Heritage Site is shaping tourism in modern Java. When it was built and complete, it would have looked even more amazing than it does today, as there is evidence that this structure was painted. Red, green, blue and black pigments have been discovered, as well as pieces of gold foil. It wasn't always a dark grey mass of volcanic stone, but was likely coated with white plaster and then painted bright colours, a beacon of Buddhism for Southeastern Asia and also the world. Thankfully, due to restoration, we can all once again enjoy this incredible example of ancient architecture. Thank you very much for watching this episode of Ancient Architects. If you enjoyed the video, please subscribe to the channel, please like the video and please leave a comment below. Thank you very much.