Batu kenongs, also known as ''kenong stones'', are a type of

megalith A megalith is a large stone that has been used to construct a prehistoric structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. More than 35,000 megalithic structures have been identified across Europe, ranging geographically f ...

found in

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

. They became prevalent sometime between the

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

period and early

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

as megalithic culture spread to Indonesia. Archeological research on the stones began in the late 19th century and continues to the present day. There is much uncertainty in how they came to Indonesia, but they are believed to have been used to support buildings.

Definition

Betu kenongs are

upright Body relative directions (also known as egocentric coordinates) are geometrical orientations relative to a body such as a human person's body or a road sign. The most common ones are: left and right; forward and backward; up and down. They fo ...

cylindrical or rounded stones and receive their name from their physical resemblance to the

kenong The Kenong is a musical instrument of Indonesia used in the gamelan. It is a kind of gong and is placed on its side. It has the same length and width. Thus, it is similar to the bonang, kempyang, and ketuk, which are also cradled gongs. Kenongs ...

, a

gamelan Gamelan (; ; , ; ) is the traditional musical ensemble, ensemble music of the Javanese people, Javanese, Sundanese people, Sundanese, and Balinese people, Balinese peoples of Indonesia, made up predominantly of percussion instrument, per ...

music instrument. They are described as "cylindrical stones with a knob on top", and classified into three separate categories: those with a single cylindrical knob, those with two cylindrical knobs, and those with rounded knobs.

Excavations In archaeology, excavation is the exposure, processing and recording of archaeological remains. An excavation site or "dig" is the area being studied. These locations range from one to several areas at a time during a project and can be condu ...

have revealed betu kenongs in patterns of rectangles and circles, which has led archeologists to believe they were used for foundations of structures. Along with their organization, the archeological excavation done by Willems in 1938 has continued to support this theory. The excavation found two different purposes for Kenong stones, each used in conjunction to create a foundation. Kenong stones surrounding structures were used to support

bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of mostly evergreen perennial plant, perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily (biology), subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family, in th ...

stilts Stilts are poles, posts or pillars that allow a person or structure to stand at a height above the ground. In flood plains, and on beaches or unstable ground, buildings are often constructed on stilts to protect them from damage by water, wav ...

in which a bamboo pole would be placed onto the knobs of the stone. Conversely, stones in the center of the construction were used to carry the majority of the house's weight. The stones in the center were supported by a large stone tab; the weight was transferred to it from the kenong stones, creating a steady foundation. This, along with the arrangement of stones in a circular or rectangular pattern, helps to solidify their use as building implements.

History

Megaliths can be seen all over Indonesia, spreading from the East to the West. However, even with such a large distribution historians have yet to be able to exactly pinpoint a time and reason for the introduction of megaliths into the region. Theories suggest the culture started in

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

Ancient Egypt Ancient Egypt () was a cradle of civilization concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in Northeast Africa. It emerged from prehistoric Egypt around 3150BC (according to conventional Egyptian chronology), when Upper and Lower E ...

, or along the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

. Overall, most attribute the appearance of megaliths to

cultural diffusion In cultural anthropology and cultural geography, cultural diffusion, as conceptualized by Leo Frobenius in his 1897/98 publication ''Der westafrikanische Kulturkreis'', is the spread of cultural items—such as ideas, styles, religions, technolo ...

sometime between the Neolithic and early Iron Ages.

Bondowoso Bondowoso Regency () is a landlocked Regencies of Indonesia, regency in East Java, Indonesia. It covers an area of 1,560.10 km2, and had a population of 736,772 at the 2010 CensusBiro Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2011. and 776,151 at the 2020 ...

, located in the

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

region, has attracted much archeological attention for its large number of megaliths. 1898 marked the first documentation of the artifacts in the area and led to the Kenong stone, along with three other megaliths, first being classified for its distinct characteristics. More excavation and research into the early 1940s generated interest in megaliths in Indonesia, leading to a new wave of investigation by the National Research Centre of Archeology after World War 2. This new research discovered 47 megalithic sites in Bondowoso, 13 of them containing Batu kenongs.

Notes

References

* {{refend Megalithic monuments Archaeological sites in Indonesia