Archaeologists hint Indonesia's giant hidden pyramid likely to be the oldest in the world
The archaeologists have stated that a giant pyramid which is hidden in an underground hillside in Indonesia is much older than Egypt's Giza Pyramids or England's Stonehenge and is likely to compete with the oldest megalithic structures ever created by humans.
This megalithic site in Indonesia is called Gunung Padang. Indonesia's hillside, which is filled with ancient stone structures and is on the island of West Java, is considered sacred by locals, who call it a 'punden berundak' which means a stepped pyramid for the terraces that slowly move towards its peak.
The site's surface has barely been brushed by the archaeologists, and already it is shaping up to become a "remarkable testament" to human ingenuity.
As per experts, Gunung Padang is the world's oldest pyramidal structure and was built atop an extinct volcano before civilisations existed and humans delved into agriculture.
As per new data found by scientists in Indonesia, its interior hides large open chambers which contain many unknown elements.
An extensive analysis of Gunung Padang, which is known as the 'mountain of enlightenment' in the local language, has suggested that the natural hill of lava was "meticulously sculpted" by an ancient civilization into the core of a pyramid-like structure after a long time.
The site's first radiocarbon dating indicated that initial construction started in the last glacial period, which was more than 27,000 years ago. The results of Gunung Padang's current study have come after carrying out many years of careful analysis.
Archaeologists decode the complex structure of Gunung Padang
In the years between 2011 and 2015, a variety of techniques like ground penetrating radars, core drilling and subsurface imaging were used by a team of archaeologists, geophysicists and geologists, headed by geologist Danny Hilman Natawidjaja at Indonesia's National Research and Innovation Agency to investigate the cultural heritage site.
It was found by Natawidjaja and other researchers that Gunung Padang was created in complex and sophisticated stages and its deepest part lies 30 meters down.
The structure's core part was probably created between 25,000 and 14,000 BCE, however, it was later abandoned for several millennia.
"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," said the team of researchers.
"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,” they added.
