Kimpulan

The Pustakasala Hindu temple excavation site, nearby is the Indonesia Islamic University Ulil Albab Mosque.

Kimpulan (also known as Pustakasala temple) is a 9th to 10th century Hindu temple located in the area of Universitas Islam Indonesia (Indonesia Islamic University or UII), Kaliurang road, Kaliurang, Sleman, Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The temple was buried about five metres underground. Parts of the temple have been excavated to reveal square andesite stone walls and statues of Ganesha, Nandi, and Lingam-Yoni.

Discovery

The temple was accidentally discovered on 11 December 2009 during land excavations to lay foundations for the construction of a new university library. The discovery drew public attention and sparked excitement and curiosity. The news instantly drew many visitors to the site. Archaeology office (BP3) in Yogyakarta feared that large numbers of curious visitors would harm the excavation site, and feared the looting might take place. As the result, the area was surrounded with tin fences and closed; it is off-limits for visitors.

Like the temples of Sambisari, Morangan and Kedulan, the temple is thought to have been buried by an ancient volcanic eruption from nearby Mount Merapi about a millennia ago. The discovery of this temple was the most exciting archaeological findings in Yogyakarta recently, leading to speculation about whether other ancient temples still lie underground in the vicinity, buried under Mount Merapi volcanic ash.

History

Further study and archaeological excavation are in progress by the Yogyakarta Archaeological office. So far the temple clearly shows its Hindu Shivaistic nature, and by the style of carving and statues strongly suggests construction somewhere around the 9th to 10th century, during Mataram Kingdom period.

During the discovery, the temple was known to public as Candi UII (Universitas Islam Indonesia temple), because it was discovered on the UII campus grounds. Later the Archaeological Office of Yogyakarta (BP3) named the temple Candi Kimpulan after Kimpulan village, the location of the site. However the UII Wakf Foundation Board suggested another name; Pustakasala which means "library" in Sanskrit. The suggested name was meant to emphasize its history of discovery, as the temple site was originally meant to be the university library. The name "Pustakasala" was also chosen to emphasize the education nature the university. Moreover, the Ganesha statue was discovered in the site, since in Java, Ganesha traditionally known as the god of learning, intellectual, wisdom, and knowledge.

Architecture

The temple is clearly a Hindu Shivaistic temple. However the temple architecture is quite unusual for a temple dated from this period. Unlike common Central Java Hindu temples, the stone main structure and towering roof are absent. The temple is modestly small in size and has simple decorations. It only consists of several squares of walled stone base and staircases with the carving of Kala. The inner chambers contain statues of Ganesha, Nandi, and Lingam-Yoni.

So far, experts suggest that the history and architecture of this temple is a modest one. The body, column, and roof of the temple probably were made from wooden or any organic materials that have decayed over time and left no traces. The temple was probably similar to present day Balinese temple with tall Meru-style roof. Unlike the magnificent and richly decorated Prambanan that served as the royal national temple of the Mataram Kingdom, Kimpulan was a modest village shrine built by common people of a village on the outskirt of the capital.