Evidence of 27.000 year old civilization at Gunung Padang pyramid – EPS 2 of 2

This is the first terrace right behind me and where I’m standing on. From here we have a view over the second terrace - I’ll move out of the shot – which looks way higher from here then this looks down from up there. Really strange, but it looks amazing. Right over here you also have those huge volcanic basaltic rocks. This one is extremely nicely shaped. This has six sides. Welcome back at the second and last episode in my apparent mini-series about Gunung Padang. If you haven’t seen the first

one, go watch that first as I laid out there what the Gunung Padang site is and why it has become so famous in recent years. I’m not doing a short version of that layout as we have much more to discuss and I don’t want this video to become super long. One of the main pushers for the ancient pyramid theory for Gunung Padang is Indonesian geologist Danny Hilman Natawidjaja (‘Natawidjaja et al’ is referred to as ‘Natawidjaja’ in this video). This expert in earthquake geology and geotectonics lead a

n archeological survey at the site between November 2011 and October 2014. He worked with Graham Hancock on an episode of Ancient Apocalypse a decade later, still trying to sell his ‘theory’. The surveys held back in the days were done by manual excavation as well as excavation with the use of heavy equipment, which is seen as improper as it might destroy cultural layers and other artifacts that aren’t directly visible. A number of sampling holes were also drilled at several locations to be able

to determine the age of the structure inside the assumed pyramid. It was during this survey that he concluded that the ancient pyramid consisted of three separate layers that were each from different eras. Radiocarbon dating done on organic material found near the top shows that this level dates back to 1000 – 2000 BCE. A second layer, consisting of pieces of stone columns with a size of up to one meter, was dated between 5000 and 6000 BCE. The third layer below that was dated between 16000 and

27000 BCE. More on the how and why later in this video. Important note here is that it’s not known whether the materials tested were actually the result of human activity. Which is of course paramount to back up any claim Natawidjaja makes that this site is a man-made structure dating back that far. Dating random layers of soil will obviously lead to results like described above, but do in no way mean they are related to human activity around that time. This is also confirmed by a petition of a

group of 34 Indonesian archaeologists and geologists made directly after the study was released by Natawidjaja. Outside complaining about the lack of scientific norms during research done at the site of Gunung Padang, there also is clear push back about the actual age. Indonesian volcanologist Sutikno Bronto has said that whatever is visible at the current site is merely a neck of an extinct volcano. He also claims that the ‘ancient human-made cement’ found at the site is not unique to this loc

ation nor is it man-made. It’s said to be a (by-)product of natural processes. The group however does not dispute the age of the top layers and the claim that it’s the largest megalithic structure in south-east Asia discovered to date. I’m realizing I’ve been walking into my own shot for a while. Let’s change up the batteries and head over to level five. We need to take a closer look at how the excavations under Natawidjaja were done, as this sheds some light at his apparent need to discover thi

ngs or obscure findings by just creating a lot of noisy data. It all started in the early 2010’s when Natawidjaja organized small excavations that didn’t reach all too deep. It escalated from there when in 2013 former president Yudhoyono was seemingly actively involved in organizing a massive excavation at the site. This was the trigger for Natawidjaja to organize this at a massive scale, but lacking the needed quality to have basic protections in place. Natawidjaja organized a massive dig by vo

lunteers that didn’t have any experience nor were understanding of the importance of preservation. In a later excavation in 2014, soldiers were drummed up that started digging with crude tools. These were also not trained professionals for this job and did only dig, as they were instructed to. More than once, the practices of Natawidjaja were called into question, and basically ignored or waved away by him, probably with the idea that he already got presidential approval and the money to go with

that. He received some 300.000 US dollar equivalent in funds from former president Yudhoyono’s team for example. The head of the West Java Archaeological Center, Desril Riva Shanti, stated that the dig never should have taken place in the form it did as it was doing permanent damage to the site. Tools used were improper, as were the methods. Because of this, Shanti herself has banned any future excavations from using the crude tools used under Natawijaya. While Natawidjaja claimed huge successe

s during this dig, there hasn’t been a large scale follow up since, further indicating that people familiar with the facts aren’t willing to have Natawidjaja do any more damage to this beautiful historic site. Because facts still are that this site is thousands of years old and spans multiple civilizations, that’s something that should be kept in mind at all times. That’s the steep stairs from there. It says so. To get there, we have to walk around, we’ll do that shortly. From here, we can indee

d see it’s pretty steep. That’s the steep stairs. Oh my god. Ancient Apocalypse is a 2022 Netflix series presented by Graham Hancock in which he argues that an ancient ice age civilization was destroyed by cataclysmic events, while some of the survivors taught later generations of hunter-gatherers how to build all kinds of monumental structures and also introduced agriculture. This is done with a side of blaming archaeologists of covering up evidence of this to make the story more compelling. Al

most a decade after the surveys held on the Gunung Padang site, Natawidjaja published a new research article titled “Geo-archaeological prospecting of Gunung Padang buried prehistoric pyramid in West Java, Indonesia”. This re-publication was released around the time Netflix released its Ancient Apocalypse series with Graham Hancock, but is based on his work a decade ago. In this new article Natawidjaja basically repeats his earlier claims made a decade ago, without providing any new evidence of

these findings. He maintains that the entire hill is a man-made structure built over several millennia. Even the covering up of the entire structure was apparently done by humans, where it is acknowledged that there are many processes like weathering, sedimentation and the tropical climate that can effectively ‘conceal’ ancient remains. The most bold and interesting claim by Hancock and Natawidjaja is that there are chambers in this ancient pyramid. And when you put chambers and pyramid in one s

entence, you will get attention from a lot of people, so that’s what they did. But is there a chamber? I mean, this survey was done over a decade ago, if there was a proper chamber, they would have excavated it by now. Right? Well, we have tomography scans for that. Similar to a CT scan you get in the hospital, this scan is merely imaging by sections using any kind of penetrating wave. These waves are different for humans and soil of course, but the result is the same; we can look inside somethi

ng we can’t lay bare. When we take a look at the imaging that has been compiled, you can clearly see the ‘chamber’ they want to see. Reality is, that there isn’t a real chamber, there only is a difference in density which is explained as a chamber or tunnel. But it gets worse. In episode named ‘Once There Was a Flood’ in the Ancient Apocalypse series, they will show you an image on which you can clearly see the words ‘Chamber’ and ‘ARTIFICIAL WALL’ with an arrow pointing at two slightly blue ver

tical lines. These lines seem to be sharper than the rest of the image, which might be a sign, but this specific image did not originate from Natawidjaja’s research article, while other images you see in that same shot are in it. It might be Netflix altering the story Natawidjaja wanted to tell here, as it’s a known fact that interviews with other scientists that were conducted for the Ancient Apocalypse series were adapted to fit the narrative of the series. In this case Natawidjaja should have

taken a stronger stance on what he had to say and not what Hancock wanted to made out of it, being the lead scientist for this episode. And then there is the fact that this potentially groundbreaking find hasn’t been followed up at all, which for me is an indicator that it’s not there just by the sheer absence of any follow up on this ‘fact’. This looks amazing, absolutely stunning. Wow. I think this is the best place, best spot. You can see the layers. There’s a layer here. There’s a pile of s

omething and then there is the second terrace over there. Outside the points I have mentioned above, there is more to say about the research article that was submitted to wiley.com by Natawidjaja in late 2022. With the help of an article by Andre Costopoulos, with the University of Alberta, Canada, we’re going to look at some of the counter claims, or debunks, if you will. Costopoulos has published multiple articles on his website that are written in language that more people can read and unders

tand compared to a research article published as is, which comes in handy here. Also for me, obviously. That’s a good one here. After walking around the site for a few hours, it’s clear that this hill is one of a thousand in the area, with the main difference being that this one has not too many trees on it. Cutting down trees is of all ages and trees still standing around here aren’t hundreds of years old, so you can’t use that as a comparison. Those columnar rocks that look like carefully carv

ed stone also don’t prove too much as they are hundreds of thousands to millions of years old and do form naturally. Outside not being unique to this single hill, it is also not uncommon to see these columns scattered around, although those beautiful natural formations where they are all standing up are much nicer. To this add to my earlier words about the so-called chamber they have found. Where I stated that it wasn’t a chamber, especially not a man-made one as is clearly claimed by both Nataw

idjaja and Hancock in the Netflix series. In theory it could technically be a void, as magma chimneys can leave behind a void after an eruption has subsided. If this happened a long time ago, which is the case with this volcano, it’s perfectly possible that natural erosion and what most people would simply call ‘the passing of time’ in general caused that space to be filled up completely, partially or not at all if it was properly sealed off at the top. Again, no apparent effort was made to inve

stigate this further. More attention should be given to this; it could be the breakthrough Hancock needs for his ancient apocalypse story of course, but if it’s not a man-made chamber but something like a volcanic void, even that that would be very spectacular on itself. I can easily see a new tourist attraction from that natural feature alone if properly done. I have been here for just short of three hours. Amazing site. Extremely quiet. It’s a normal weekday, which probably makes a difference.

And… canteen, prayer room … I’m going to get back to the road. I would revert back to what Dutch historian Verbeek wrote in is ‘Oudheden van Java’ in the late 19th century. He noticed that Gunung Padang probably is an early Hindu shrine. In his time, but even more so today, this makes perfect sense, as the first documented arrivals from the Indian subcontinent date back over 2000 years now, as discussed earlier in this video. Verbeek also mentioned that this site was likely a burial site though

, of which no evidence has been found. There are no human remains buried here that we know of, as none of the excavations done here have ever resulted in human bones being uncovered. So no, the Gunung Padang site is not a man-made structure that dates back 27.000 years and multiple civilizations and no there are no underground man-made chambers that are linked to each other just like you would find in a pyramid. This all is merely speculation and bait by Natawidjaya and Hancock in the hope that

they can spin this a few more episodes on Netflix or the History Channel for some sweet cash. And apparently, they succeeded in doing so, although I suspect the big winner is Hancock here, not Natawidjaja as he only featured in the very first episode of Ancient Apocalypse. But, if you are ever in the area, make sure to stop by at the Gunung Padang site. It’s not the easiest of destinations as it still takes a few hours by car if traveling from Jakarta, but it’s certainly one of the most impressi

ve things you will see if you’re interested in (ancient) history. Once you have made it to the parking area, make sure to put on your hiking shoes and possibly bring a walking cane or stick as the way up is only one; stairs. The only option you get is to use the steep stairs that were constructed earlier or the newer ‘easy’ stairs, which is still several hundred steps of natural stone, but with the added gazebo here and there for you to catch your breath. One thing is certain, it might not be a

27.000-year-old site built by a lost civilization, it is for sure a site that deserves further investigation as there are quite some signs it’s pretty darned old! On top of that, once you’re here, you get a bit of that fresh mountain air that you won’t find in Jakarta. Don’t forget to bring your sunblock and an umbrella though, as at an altitude of just below 1000 meters above sea level and much less polluted skies, the sun burns you faster here but a rainstorm might just break out above you, es

pecially during the wet monsoon.