Pamatan is the name of a lost city on

Lombok Lombok, is an island in West Nusa Tenggara province, Indonesia. It forms part of the chain of the Lesser Sunda Islands, with the Lombok Strait separating it from Bali to the west and the Alas Strait between it and Sumbawa to the east. It is rou ...

Island in Indonesia and the capital of the principal kingdom on Lombok. The city was destroyed by the

1257 Samalas eruption 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

; while the king and at least part of his family survived, many inhabitants were killed. The location of the city is unclear but probably was on the eastern coast of Lombok. The history of Pamatan and the 1257 eruption of Samalas is recorded in the '' Babad Lombok'', a compilation of historical writings and possibly oral tradition written in the

Old Javanese language Old Javanese or Kawi is an Austronesian language and the oldest attested phase of the Javanese language. It was natively spoken in the central and eastern part of Java Island, what is now Central Java, Yogyakarta and East Java Provinces, Ind ...

palm Palm most commonly refers to: * Palm of the hand, the central region of the front of the hand * Palm plants, of family Arecaceae ** List of Arecaceae genera **Palm oil * Several other plants known as "palm" Palm or Palms may also refer to: Music ...

leaves. According to the ''Babad Lombok'', Pamatan was founded at the foot of Samalas-Rinjani after a previous (probably legendary) city had been abandoned. It is likely that the city was located on the sea, most likely on the eastern side of Lombok; possible locations are at Aikmel and Sembalun. The ''Babad Lombok'' says that the city had a population of about 10,000 people and featured city walls, town halls, houses, and boulevards. Its inhabitants were wealthy and active in agriculture, fishing, and trade. The city was the capital of a kingdom; at the time, Lombok had multiple kingdoms, of which Pamatan was the most important. When Samalas erupted in 1257, the city was destroyed;

pyroclastic flow A pyroclastic flow (also known as a pyroclastic density current or a pyroclastic cloud) is a fast-moving current of hot gas and volcanic matter (collectively known as tephra) that flows along the ground away from a volcano at average speeds of b ...

s swept the houses away and partially into the sea. The ''Babad Lombok'' states that there were numerous casualties, but other inhabitants, including part of the royal family, escaped and moved to villages and towns that had survived the eruption. People took refuge on hills and mountains which were spared by pyroclastic flows. Others escaped by boats over sea. Reportedly, the king and his family survived the eruption, but the city disappeared from history and its location was lost; if it were to be rediscovered, it may become a "

Pompeii Pompeii ( ; ) was a city in what is now the municipality of Pompei, near Naples, in the Campania region of Italy. Along with Herculaneum, Stabiae, and Villa Boscoreale, many surrounding villas, the city was buried under of volcanic ash and p ...

of the East". According to the ''Babad Lombok'', after the eruption new settlements were built by survivors. There is, , little

archeological Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscapes. Archaeology ...

evidence with which to corroborate its narrative. It is likely that Lombok was devastated by the eruption, facilitating its conquest from

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 ...

in 1284. If rediscovered, Pamatan may offer clues on how societies respond to volcanic catastrophes. Contemporary historical records give indications but they cannot be verified archeologically.

References

External links

* {{cite journal , last1=Gottowik , first1=Volker , title=8 In Search of Holy Water: Hindu Pilgrimage to Gunung Rinjani on Lombok, Indonesia, as a Multi-religious Site , journal=Religion, Place and Modernity , date=1 January 2016 , pages=205–243 , doi=10.1163/9789004320239_009 , url=https://brill.com/view/book/edcoll/9789004320239/B9789004320239_009.xml , language=en, isbn=9789004320239 , url-access=subscription Lost ancient cities and towns Former populated places in Indonesia Historic sites in Indonesia