Borobudur - A photographic essay

Located on Indonesia's island of Java, twenty-six miles northwest of Yogyakarta, the ancient sanctuary Borobudur is the world's largest Buddhist monument. Dating from the mid eighth century AD, and constructed over a period of over a hundred years, Borobudur was mysteriously abandoned early in the tenth century.

For nearly a millennium, the abandoned complex was heaved by earthquakes, buried in volcanic ash, and reclaimed by the lush jungle vegetation. The temple was virtually unknown by the Dutch during the colonial period in Java.

Popular belief is that Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, the peripatetic Lieutenant-Governor of Java and founder of Singapore, was responsible for the "rediscovery" of Borobudur. The first description of the temple appears in his 1817 work, The History of Java where the complex is mistakenly identified as a Hindu temple.

A major attempt at a restoration of the collapsing temple took place between 1907 and 1911 by Theodor van Erp, but in spite of his efforts it continued to cave in on itself. The balustrades cracked and leaned, the stupas toppled, and the floors sunk because of an unsturdy foundation.It was not until 1973 that UNESCO and the Indonesian government began a thorough reconstruction that lasted a decade. Over a million stone blocks were dismantled, numbered, and cleaned before being reassembled on a completely rebuilt foundation.

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Image © 2000 Robert Tompkins, Travel, Ink.

A story told with photos.

Published on 3/31/01

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