CANDI TONGGOWONGSO

  The Tondowongso Temple complex is an ancient discovery site found in early 2007 in Tondowongso Hamlet, Gayam Village, Gurah District, Kediri Regency, East Java. This site of more than one hectare is considered to be the biggest discovery for the classical period of Indonesian history in the last 30 years (since the discovery of the Batujaya Temple Complex), although Prof. Soekmono once found one statue from the same location in 1957. [1] The discovery of this site begins with the discovery of a number of statues by a number of local brick craftsmen.

   Based on the shape and style of the statues found, this site is believed to be a relic of the early Kadiri Kingdom (XI century), the initial period of the transfer of the political center from the Central Java region to East Java. [2] [3] [4] [5] During this time the Kadiri Kingdom was known from a number of literary works but not much is known about its heritage in the form of buildings or sculptural results. The Tondowongso site consists of a main temple facing west and three ancillary temples (companion) overlooking the main temple. To the west of the building there is a gate structure, and to the east of the building there is a remnant of an ancient fence (possibly this fence surrounds a cluster of temples).
  A few tens of meters south of the temple cluster also found another structure which is thought to be a gate. At the foot of the temple found a profile of the rattan (half round) and the side of the bell (ojief) which is characteristic of the Central Java period building. The structure of this building is partly damaged. Most of the constituent materials of Tondowongso Temple are brick, while only a few andesite stone components are used as constituent steps.