India and Indonesia partner for restoration of 9th-century Prambanan Temple complex

Key facts

• India and Indonesia have partnered for the restoration of the Prambanan Temple complex in the Special Region of Yogyakarta in southern Java.
• Indonesian Minister of Culture Fadli Zon met a team from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) Monday to discuss preservation of the temple complex within the broader cultural landscape, which includes Sewu and Plaosan temples.
• ASI experts determined that the process of restoration and additional preservation would be completed through the anastylosis technique, a process of reassembling buildings using the original stones discovered on location.
• The Prambanan compound is a 9th-century UNESCO World Heritage Site dedicated to the Trimurti, the Hindu trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva.
• India has previously worked on major restoration sites in Southeast Asian countries, including Cambodia, Vietnam, Myanmar and Laos.
• Initial restoration work on Angkor Wat was undertaken by ASI from 1986 to 1993.
• In Laos, the ASI restored Vat Phou Temple in two phases at a cost of Rs 17 crore and Rs 24 crore for an ancient Khmer-Hindu Shiva site.