A Sustainable Approach to Endangered Heritage: The Batujaya Temples, Indonesia

Abstract

ABSTRACT This paper examined a case of ancient sites in Indonesia, a developing country in Southeast Asia whose economy mostly relies on intensive labour industries. A common feature is that fertile land that has been cultivated is then converted into an industrial use, solely due to its accessibility to transportation, water and labour. As economics dominates every aspect of planning decisions, this has also affected the heritage resource. This phenomenon is not new in Indonesia; agricultural land has been seen as having less value compared with that for industrial purposes. Sadly, in this same area, beneath this fertile land lies an endangered thousand years of heritage. At Batujaya a temple was built with red soil, which gives an indication of agricultural history. This paper used a case study, a multidisciplinary approach and diachronic morphological analysis to understand the context of Karawang city with the historical and political dynamics that have occurred, both past and present. This paper is an initial piece of research to examine the city of Karawang in the context of history and politics along with conflicts of interest that have the potential to become obstacles in the management of the Batujaya site conservation programme.