page_title: Archaeology of Indonesia
section_title: Dutch East Indies period
hierarchical_section_title: Archaeology of Indonesia / History / Dutch East Indies period
caption_attribution_description: English: Sculptures at the museum of the Royal Batavian Society of Arts and Sciences, Batavia Nederlands: Foto. Beelden in het museum van het Koninklijk Bataviaasch Genootschap van Kunsten en Wetenschappen, Batavia
context_page_description: The archaeology of Indonesia is the study of the archaeology of the archipelagic realm that today forms the nation of Indonesia, stretching from prehistory through almost two millennia of documented history. The ancient Indonesian archipelago was a geographical maritime bridge between the political and cultural centers of Ancient India and Imperial China, and is notable as a part of ancient Maritime Silk Road.
  The first government institution of archaeology was officially formed in 1913 with the establishment of Oudheidkundige Dienst in Nederlandsch-Indië under Professor Dr. N.J. Kromm.
  Today, the national institution of archaeology in Indonesia is the Pusat Arkeologi Nasional.
context_section_description: Formal archaeological study in Indonesia has its roots in 18th-century Batavia, when a group of Dutch intellectuals established a scientific institution under the name Bataviaasch Genootschap van Kunsten en Wetenschappen, (Royal Batavian Society of Arts and Sciences) on 24 April 1778.  This private body had the aim of promoting research in the field of arts and sciences, especially in history, archaeology, ethnography and physics, and publishing the various findings.
  Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, the Governor General of British Java (1811 to 1816) had a personal interest in the history, culture, and the antiquity of ancient Java, writing The History of Java, which was published in 1817. During his administration, the ancient ruins of Borobudur, Prambanan and Trowulan came to light. This sparked a wider interest in Javanese archaeology. A number of temple ruins were surveyed, recorded and catalogued systematically for the first time. However, by the 19th century, the sudden surge of interest in Javanese art had led to the looting of archaeological sites by "souvenir hunters" and thieves. This period saw the decapitation of a Buddha's head at Borobudur. Of the original 504 ancient Buddha statues in Borobudur, over 300 are damaged (mostly headless), and 43 are missing. The looted Borobudur Buddhas' heads were mostly sold abroad, ending up in private collections or acquired by Western museums such as the Tropenmuseum in Amsterdam and The British Museum in London.
  In 1901, the colonial government of the Dutch East Indies set up the Commissie in Nederlandsch Indie voor Oudheidkundige Onderzoek van Java en Madoera, headed by Dr J. L. A. Brandes. It was officially recognized on 14 June 1913, with the formation of the Oudheidkundige Dienst in Nederlandsch-Indië (Archaeological Service of the Dutch East Indies), often abbreviated as "OD", under Professor Dr. N.J. Kromm. Kromm is credited as the pioneer who established the organizational foundation of archaeological study in the East Indies. The object of this was to attempt to ensure that every archaeological find, discovery, exploration and study was conducted and recorded correctly and in accord with the scientific approach of modern archaeology. During Kromm's administration, numbers of journals, books and catalogues were composed and published which systematically recorded the archaeological finds in the colony. Several initial restoration works on the temple ruins of Java were also conducted during this period.
caption: Hindu-Buddhist sculptures in the Museum of the Royal Batavian Society of Arts and Sciences (today the National Museum of Indonesia), Batavia, c.1896
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