Lebak Cibedug temple, is a terraced

pyramid A pyramid () is a structure whose visible surfaces are triangular in broad outline and converge toward the top, making the appearance roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be of any polygon shape, such as trian ...

shaped sacred

megalithic A megalith is a large Rock (geology), 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 ...

site on the bank of Cibedug river near Citorek village in

Banten Banten (, , Pegon alphabet, Pegon: بنتن) is the westernmost Provinces of Indonesia, province on the island of Java, Indonesia. Its capital city is Serang and its largest city is Tangerang. The province borders West Java and the Special Capi ...

Province at the west end of the island of

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 ...

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, ...

. There are other megalithic

menhirs A menhir (; from Brittonic languages: ''maen'' or ''men'', "stone" and ''hir'' or ''hîr'', "long"), standing stone, orthostat, or lith is a large upright stone, emplaced in the ground by humans, typically dating from the European middle Bro ...

and

dolmen A dolmen, () or portal tomb, is a type of single-chamber Megalith#Tombs, megalithic tomb, usually consisting of two or more upright megaliths supporting a large flat horizontal capstone or "table". Most date from the Late Neolithic period (4000 ...

s on this site.

Location

Citorek is 130 km southwest of

Jakarta Jakarta (; , Betawi language, Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and ...

airport via

Indonesian National Route 1 Indonesian National Route 1 is a major road in Java, Indonesia. It passes through 5 provinces along the north coast, Banten, Jakarta, West Java, Central Java and East Java.

till

Balaraja Balaraja is a town and an administrative district (''kecamatan'') within Tangerang Regency in the province of Banten, on Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java ...

and then south via Jalan Raya Maja and Jalan Raya Cipnas to Citorek. Citorek is 90 km west of

Bogor Bogor City (), or Bogor (, ), is a landlocked city in the West Java, Indonesia. Located around south of the national capital of Jakarta, Bogor is the 6th largest city in the Jakarta metropolitan area and the 14th overall nationwide.

city via Indonesian National Route 11 and then south via Jalan Sukajaya and Jalan Raya Cipnas to Citorek. The forested site, surrounded by trees and volcanic

andesite Andesite () is a volcanic rock of intermediate composition. In a general sense, it is the intermediate type between silica-poor basalt and silica-rich rhyolite. It is fine-grained (aphanitic) to porphyritic in texture, and is composed predomina ...

stones, is reached by 2 hour trekking from Citorek village to the smaller Cibedeg village in the west.Cibedug Site as a Historical Tourist Destination in Citorek Village, Banten
Indonesia Tourism. The Cibedeg village is administratively consider part of Citorek village. Citorek is reachable by a paved road, after which the Cibedeg village and the Cibedeg archaeological site can be reached either by trekking on foot or by pillion riding the hired

motorcycle taxi A motorcycle taxi, or cart bike or bike taxi, is a licensed form of transport in some countries. The taxi typically carries one passenger, who "rides pillion" behind the motorcycle operator. Multiple passengers are common in some countries. Bra ...

s called ''"ojek"''. The site is located on the slope of Pasir Manggu hill. The path from Citorek to Cibedug monument is paved with stones pavement along the rolling hillocks and ridges and a suspension bridge which is accessible only by the two wheeled vehicles or trekkers. After the suspension bridge the path is widens. The path, made of slippery stones and clay has poor rain drainage, also has landslides point. Near the monument is the Cibedug village which can be reached only on the foot. Site is located in the forest next to the

Mount Halimun Salak National Park Mount Halimun Salak National Park is a 400 km2 conservation area in the Indonesian province of West Java on the island of Java. Established in 1992, the park comprises two mountains, Mount Salak and Mount Halimun with an 11-kilometer forest ...

. other nearby attractions include beaches, such as Pulo Manuk, Ciantir and Tanjung Layar.

History

It was mentioned in 's book ''"Megalithic Remains in South Sumatra"''.Flame Rozario
Pyramids in Indonesia? It's not just Gunung Padang
30 May 2016. It was used as a sacred site by the locals, and tourists still offer prayers. Native villagers can be hired as guides, who also explain the

folklore Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as Narrative, tales, myths, legends, proverbs, Poetry, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also ...

related to the site.

Architecture

Cibedug pyramid has nine terraces with menhirs and altars on them. Square shaped terraces were constructed with oval-shaped andesite stones. It was used as a sacred site. Couple of meters to the left before the entrance of stairs, there is an altar arrangement of 4 menhir stones, which are called ''"tukuh stone"'', '"scratched stone"'' and '"wells"''. On the entrance of the stairs there is an upright menhir stone, 235 cm tall and 336 cm in diameter, which is the largest menhir on this site. There are other menhirs and dolmen littered around the area. On this site, west of pyramid is the Cibedug river. Before the entrance to the main pyramid, there are two more smaller megalithic platforms with only one and two terraces respectively.

Influence on other temple's architecture

Lebak Cibedug monument design is older than the temples of Bali, and its design is considered the inspiration for designing the Pura Dalem Segara Madhu temple in

Bali Bali (English:; Balinese language, Balinese: ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller o ...

. The architectural concept of a complex consisted of different level terraces influenced many examples of Hindu / Buddhist temples in the Archipelago, and can still be seen in large part of Hindu temples in Bali.Takashi Sakai, 2019
The Foreign Religious Monuments and the Mountain Worship in the Southeast Asian Archipelago

National Taiwan University National Taiwan University (NTU; zh, t=國立臺灣大學, poj=Kok-li̍p Tâi-oân Tāi-ha̍k, p=, s=) is a National university, national Public university, public research university in Taipei, Taiwan. Founded in 1928 during Taiwan under J ...

, SN - 978-986-05-9819-3.

Threats

This abandoned site is not managed by the government and there are no tourist facilities such as drinking water and restrooms. Site is under threats of erosion from rains, archaeological theft and vandalism, encroachment and damage by the forest vegetation, pollution due to lack of onsite visitor facilities, thus putting the site at the risk of disappearance. Site desperately needs excavation, historic identification and documentation, restoration, onsite management, security fence and guard, and ongoing archaeological study and upgrades to protect this ancient heritage of Indonesia.

References