Kewu Plain

rdf:langString Kewu Plain

rdf:langString 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 the east, 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), Indonesia. Historically the area was identified as Mamratipura. The region was the center of both the Mataram kingdom in the 8th to 10th centuries, and later the 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 temple structure was counted separately, the 9th century Central Java period could be said to have produced thousands of temples, scattered from Dieng Plateau, Kedu Plain to Kewu Plain. Apart from the Prambanan Roro Jonggrang complex, Kewu Plain along with the 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. Borobudur and Prambanan in particular, are popularly regarded as the two Indonesian temples to rival Angkor Wat in Cambodia. In 2012, the Balai Pelestarian Peninggalan Purbakala Jawa Tengah (BP3, or the Central Java Heritage Preservation Authority) suggested that the area in and around Prambanan should be treated as a sanctuary. The proposed area is in the Prambanan Plain measuring measured 30 square kilometres (12 sq mi) spread across the Sleman and Klaten regencies. The area includes major temples such as Prambanan, Ratu Boko, Kalasan, Sari and Plaosan temples. The sanctuary is planned to be treated in a similar fashion to the Angkor archaeological area in Cambodia, which suggests that the government should prevent or regulate permits to construct any new buildings, especially the multi-storied buildings, as well as BTS towers. This was meant to protect this archaeologically-rich area from modern day visual obstructions and the encroachments of hotels, restaurants and any tourism-related buildings and businesses.