Jakarta, IO – A large stone engraved with ancient characters and palm inscription was found in the border between Kalapanunggal-Cikidang district, Sukabumi regency presents a uniqueness and mystery. The stone is thought to be a relic from the royal era, but further research is needed to determine its actual age.
The stone was found accidentally by Dida Hudaya, head of the Soekaboemi Historical Exploration Foundation, per detiktravel, Saturday (22/7).
Initially, Dida served as a field coordinator in the plantation area. She became curious with the overall condition of the plantation, especially the monument-like block. He felt that the naming of the monument in that block was closely related to the archaeological site.
“I became curious of the many blocks, why is there the name of the monument. Usually its related to archeology, for example, there are menhirs [standing stones]. There was a former Dutch building. Usually, not far away there is Sundanese site with Dutch heritage,” said Dida.
The plantation area itself indeed dates back to the Dutch colonial era. Dida started exploring the site and suspected there were many ancient relics.
After exploring for quite a while, he found an Elephant Stone measuring almost 5 meters wide and 2 meters long which the local residents were talking about. However, he also found another large rock with a palm print, not far from the position of the first stone in the river.
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“There is a large rock about 4 meters from the first stone on the river bank with palm print and ancient characters engraved on its surface,” explained Dida.
Dida reported his findings to the authorities and is currently still being researched by a team from the West Java Region IX Cultural Preservation Center. If indeed the characters printed on the stone are ancient Sundanese scripts, its age can be ascertained. (bp)