Ratu Boko

Ratu Boko
The gate of Ratu Boko compound
General information
Architectural style	candi, fortified settlement complex
Town or city	near Yogyakarta (city), Yogyakarta
Country	Indonesia
Completed	circa 9th century
Client	Sailendra or Mataram Kingdom

Ratu Boko is an archaeological site known to modern Javanese as Kraton Ratu Boko or Ratu Boko's Palace. Ratu Boko is located on a plateau, about three kilometres south of Lara Jonggrang Prambanan temple complex in Yogyakarta Indonesia. The original name of this site is still unclear, however the local inhabitants named this site after King Boko, the legendary king mentioned in Loro Jonggrang folklore. In Javanese, Ratu Boko means "Stork King".

The site covers 16 hectares in two hamlets (Dawung and Sambireja) of the village of Bokoharjo and Prambanan, Sleman Regency. In striking contrast to other Classic-period sites in Central Java and Yogyakarta, which are remains of temples, Ratu Boko displays attributes of an occupation or settlement site, although its precise function is unknown. Probably the site was a palace complex which belonged to the kings of Sailendra or Mataram Kingdom that also built temples scattered across the Prambanan Plain. The argument was based on the fact that this complex was not a temple nor building with religious nature, but a fortified palace instead which evidence of a remnant of fortified walls and the dry moat of defensive structures. The remains of settlements also founds in Ratu Boko vicinity. This site is located 196 m above the sea level, on the highest point in the site, there is a small pavilion from which one will be able to see a panoramic view of Prambanan temple with Mount Merapi as the background.

According to writer HJ. DeGraff, in the 17th century there were many European travelers to Java, who mentioned that there existed an archeological site which related of certain King Boko. In 1790, a Dutch researcher, Van Boeckholtz was the first to discover the archaeological ruins on top of Ratu Boko Hill. The hill itself is the northwestern branch of a larger Sewu mountain system, located on southern part of Central and East Java spanned between Yogyakarta to Tulungagung. The publication of the discovery attracted scientists such as Mackenzie, Junghun and Brumun to conduct research and exploration on the site in the year 1814. In the early 20th century, the Ratu Boko site was thoroughly studied by researcher FDK Bosch, who published his findings in a report entitled "Keraton Van Ratoe Boko". From this report concluded that the ruins was the remnant of a keraton (palace). During these researches, Mackenzie also found a statue of gold-headed man and woman embracing each other. A stone pillar with ornaments of zoomorphic figures among which are elephants, horses, and others, also found among the ruins.