Traveling to beaches and mountains may be common. But have you ever thought about doing “past tours” to historical places?
Indonesia is a country that is very rich in culture and heritage. The wealth that exists makes us not surprised if there are so many historical places scattered in various corners and corners of the country.
Yogyakarta is one of the many areas that are still very thick with customs and culture. Yep, this special area is like a paradise for ancient and historic relics. One of them is the Sokoliman Site.
The Sokoliman site is an archaeological site as well as a place for storing and preserving cultural heritage from the Megalithic period or the big stone period. This site is located in Sokoliman II Hamlet, Bejiharjo Village, Karangmojo, Gunungkidul, Yogyakarta Special Region Province and stands on an area of 2,000 square meters.
The discovery of this site was first disclosed by two researchers named JL Moens and van Der Hoop in 1934. At that time, Moens and Hoop found traces of ancient relics such as stone tombs and human skeletons. The human skeleton found was decorated with supplies in the form of beads, fragments, pottery, iron tools, and bronze objects on the banks of the Oya River, Bejiharjo Village, Karangmojo District, Gunungkidul Regency.
Previously, this ancient site was still a mess. Various artifacts found scattered around residential areas in abandoned conditions. Therefore, during the period 1988-1992 the Yogyakarta Special Region Cultural Heritage Preservation Center together with the Department of Archeology at Gadjah Mada University collaborated to collect artifacts in a place and research them.
Other artifacts found there are waruga (stone graves), stone grave boards, and also menhirs (upright stones for worship objects). In total, there are 86 menhirs , 5 stone tombs, and 7 stone slabs.
The name Sokoliman itself is taken from five artifacts that are oval-shaped like a pillar or in Javanese called soko. So sokoliman means five supports or pillars.
What makes this Sokoliman Site unique is that most of the artifacts found are made of limestone and typical ornaments. This is due to the topography of Gunungkidul Regency, most of which is karst rock.
Not only artifacts, caves were also found around the Sokoliman Site. It is believed that the cave became the residence and shelter of ancient humans in the Megalithic era at that time.
In addition to the cave, the Gede Sumur Site was also found. The Gede well is strong evidence that there was once life around the Sokoliman Site. The water from the well was used by early humans for consumption as well as to irrigate agriculture because at that time they were familiar with food- producing or farming. In fact, pottery and sword hilts were also found near this site.
Until now, the Sokoliman Site is still widely studied by archaeologists at home and abroad. It is believed that there are many other artifacts scattered around, either on the ground surface or buried in the ground. This of course can add to the collection of artifacts at the Sokoliman Site.
At present, renovations and additions have been made to various adequate facilities for visitors. In fact, this site also provides WI-FI so that visitors don’t have to worry about losing their internet signal.
The Sokoliman site can be an option for “past tourism” destinations for history and culture lovers. This site can also open and broaden our knowledge of ancient human life in the past.
So what are you waiting for. Enter the Sokoliman Site into the list of tourist trips and clear the schedule to visit this archaeological site. Don’t forget to also visit, protect, and preserve other cultural heritages because they are important assets that must be preserved.