Gunung Padang

Gunung Padang is an archaeological site located in Karyamukti, West Java, Indonesia, 50 kilometres (31 mi) southwest of Cianjur.

The terrace perimeters consist of retaining walls formed by volcanic polygonal columns stacked horizontally and built vertically as posts.

[2][3] Dutch historian Rogier Verbeek mentioned the existence of the Gunung Padang site in his book Oudheden van Java: lijst der voornaamste overblijfselen uit den Hindoetijd op Java, based on a visit and report by M. De Corte in 1890[4] —Rogier Verbeek, Oudheden van Java,1891.The notes on the Gunung Padang site in Verbeek's book are similar to those made by Dutch archaeologist Nicolaas Johannes Krom in the 1914 "Rapporten van de Oudheidkundige Dienst" ("Report of the Department of Antiquities").

[2] At the end of June 2014, the ministry declared Gunung Padang a National Site Area, covering a total of 29 hectares (72 acres).

[10] Danny Hilman Natawidjaja, an Indonesian geologist, has claimed that the site had been built as a giant pyramid 9,000 to 20,000 years ago, implying the existence of an otherwise unknown advanced ancient civilization.

In October 2023, an article by Natawidjaja et al., published in Archaeological Prospection, claimed that Gunung Padang is the oldest pyramid in the world, dating as far back as 27,000 years ago.

In March 2024, the publisher of Archaeological Prospection, Wiley, and the editors, retracted that paper, stating that:...the radiocarbon dating was applied to soil samples that were not associated with any artifacts or features that could be reliably interpreted as anthropogenic or "man-made".

Gunung Padang site.
Gunung Padang site