There is a mountainous region in West Java, Indonesia. One can find greeneries, as well as numerous mysterious stones, in that area which is considered as a mysterious place by local residents. However, no one knew the true importance of this place for a long time. A team of archaeologists, geologists and geophysicists has claimed that there is a huge pyramid hidden beneath the ground in Cianjur District‘s Gunung Padang area in West Java Province. They have further claimed that the hidden pyramid is older than the Egyptian pyramids, and the Stonehenge, a prehistoric monument on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England. Probably, it is the oldest megalithic architecture discovered that is made by human beings. According to an article published recently in Archaeological Prospection magazine, the oldest pyramid of the world has been found not in Egypt or Latin America, but in Asia!

Local residents call this sort of architecture Punden Berundak, which means a stepped pyramid for the terraces that slowly move towards its peak. Archaeologists, who have been working in this area for the past 10 years, are of the opinion that Gunung Padang is sitting on an extinct volcano. Its fertile lava is teeming with life. No one noticed the world’s oldest pyramidal structure buried under the green moram on the hill. In fact, the structure was built atop the extinct volcano before civilisations existed and humans delved into agriculture. Archaeologists have opined that the pyramid bears the evidence of human intelligence, talent and excellence.

The pyramid was built on top of the extinct volcano thousands of years before the birth of Jesus Christ. Archaeologists have also traced a huge secret chamber inside the pyramid. However, what the chamber contains is still unknown. Gunung Padang means Mountain of Enlightenment in the local language. After archaeological analysis, experts have claimed that an ancient human civilisation built this structure by cutting the top of a hill made of volcanic rock. Radiocarbon dating has revealed that the structure was built during the Last Glacial Period (LGP) or the Last Ice Age, encompassing the period 115,000-11,700 years ago (approximately 16,000-27,000 years before the birth of Jesus Christ). The oldest known megalithic structure is Göbekli Tepe that is a Neolithic archaeological site in the southeastern Anatolia Region of Turkey.

Indonesia’s National Research and Innovation Agency has prepared a report on the hidden pyramid after extensive research and archaeological analysis. A special team of archaeologists, geologists and geophysicists continued the expedition from 2011 to 2015, and then analysed their findings. Geologist Danny Hilman Natawidjaja of the National Research and Innovation Agency led the team. He has claimed that the structure of Gunung Padang is quite complex, as well as elitist. Danny has further claimed that the deepest part of the pyramid is 30mt below the surface. He told the media that the core of the pyramid was built between 25,000 BC and 14,000 BC. Later, it was abandoned for a long time. Again, the construction work took place between 7,900 BC and 6,100 BC, and the final work was completed between 2,000 BC and 1,100 BC. Currently, only the top of the pyramid is partially visible.

According to experts, it is full of diversity. The study paper has mentioned: “The builders of Unit 3 and Unit 2 at Gunung Padang must have possessed remarkable masonry capabilities, which do not align with the traditional hunter-gatherer cultures.” It added: “Given the long and continuous occupation of Gunung Padang, it is reasonable to speculate that this site held significant importance, attracting ancient people to repeatedly occupy and modify it.”

More research remains, as experts have discovered hidden holes in different places on the top of the hill. They have also found a number of secret rooms and each of them is 15mt-long. The height of ceiling of those rooms is about 10mt. Experts are digging the ground in an attempt to enter those rooms. If they fail to enter the rooms, researchers shall view them with the help of cameras. Danny believes that Gunung Padang shall reveal more secrets in the near future.

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Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das