Dieng temples

[4][5] 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.

At that time the plain surrounding the Arjuna cluster was flooded with water and forming a small lake.

The Dutch East Indies Government continued the reconstruction project in 1864, followed by further study and photographs taken by Van Kinsbergen.

Arjuna cluster located in the central area of the Dieng plateau, consists of four temples that lined elongated in north-south direction.

There are amalaka-type segmented rings at the corners at one level, and the ornament with corbels, leaves, and festoons on the lower cornices, below the gavakshas, suggest influence from Chinese Buddhist art.

[3] The Hindu shrines are miniature cosmic mountains based on plans in Indian religious texts, although Schoppert suggests that though the plans follow Indian texts, the ornament has "design motifs which for the most part have no clear correlate in India".

The temples all have a single chamber inside, with one entrance, sometimes extended to make a small vestibule.

[3] Early North Central Javanese temple architecture is noted for its smaller size, simplicity, and relatively lack of ornaments compared to richly decorated and massive temples of Southern Central Java, such as Kalasan, Sewu, and Prambanan.

The earliest architectural usage of the Javanese kala demonic masks and Makara marine monsters are exhibited along the niches and doorways of the remaining structures.

[3] The Dieng structures were small and relatively plain, but stone architecture developed substantially in only a matter of decades resulting in masterpieces such as the Prambanan complex and Borobudur.

Dieng's misty location is almost 2,093 m above sea level, and its poisonous effusions and sulphur-coloured lakes make it a particularly auspicious place for religious tribute.