Mysterious "Pyramid" discovered in Indonesia
Archaeologists have discovered a giant pyramid-like structure in Indonesia. This mysterious structure is believed to be an ancient temple dating back thousands of years.
Scientists reported the latest findings at the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union (AGU).
The mysterious structure was identified as being located on top of Mount Padang, Indonesia, within an archaeological site discovered in the early 19th century.
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| The area where an ancient temple resembling a pyramid was discovered in Indonesia. |
According to the discovered traces, archaeologists believe that it is not a natural landscape but has traces of humans.
"The newly discovered structure resembles a pyramid that has been hidden for so long because it is hidden by tree foliage and looks like a hill," said Andang Bachtiar, a geologist in Indonesia.
While the buried structure may look very similar to a pyramid, it is different from similar pyramids built by the Maya, said Danny Hilman Natawidjaja, a senior scientist at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences.
Explaining this point of view, Danny Hilman Natawidjaja said that the Mayan pyramids tend to be symmetrical. Meanwhile, the newly discovered architecture tends to be very different in length. It is a unique temple.
To better define the newly discovered area, archaeologists used a range of modern technical means such as ground-penetrating radar, X-ray tomography, 2D and 3D photography, core drilling and excavation.
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| Deep under the ancient temple area, archaeologists discovered many ancient ruins. |
The results were surprising, the newly discovered architecture was quite large, covering an area of about 15 hectares and was built millennia ago.
According to archaeologists' estimates, this mysterious temple is about 3,000 to 3,500 years old.
About 3m below the surveyed surface is a second layer of similar stone columns, believed to be between 7,500 and 8,300 years old. And a third layer about 15m deep is about 9,000 years old.
More surprisingly, archaeologists also found evidence that the strange temple has ruins that date back 28,000 years with many underground chambers.
Today, locals still use the exposed site on top of the mysterious structure as a sacred destination for prayer and meditation.