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Prambanan Plain


Kewu Plain, also known as Prambanan Plain or Opak River valley, is a fertile volcanic plain that lies between Merapi-Merbabu complex in the north, Bantul lowlands and Sewu karst limestone range in the south, Bengawan Solo river valley in east, and the Progo River in the west, and Kedu Plain on northwest. It is located within the Yogyakarta Special Region,Sleman Regency, Klaten Regency and Solo City (Central Java).

Historically the area was identified as Mataram, it was the center of both Medang i Bhumi Mataram kingdom in the 8th to 10th centuries, and later Mataram Sultanate in the 16th century. It has been an important location in Central Javanese history and culture for over a millennium, since it contains many ancient archaeological remnants of historic significance. If each temples structure was counted separately, the 9th century Central Java period could be said to have produced thousands of temples, scattered from Shiva (Dieng) Plateau, Kedu Plain to Kewu Plain.

Apart from the Prambanan Lara Jonggrang complex, Kewu Plain, valley and hills around it is the location of some of the earliest Hindu-Buddhist temples in Indonesia. Adjacent to the complex to the north are Bubrah temple, Lumbung temple, and Sewu temple; to the east are found Plaosan temple. Kalasan temple and Sari temple are to the west, and further is the Sambisari temple. The Ratu Boko compounds are on higher ground just to the south. The discoveries of archaeological sites scattered only a few miles away suggested that this area was once an important religious, political, and urban center of central Java. Despite the smaller scale of its temples, the diversity and sophistication of the archaeological sites in this plain are comparable to Angkor archaeological site in Cambodia.


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