Beautiful, majestic and illustrates the sophistication of architectural technology in its time.
That's the impression that can be felt when visiting Petirtaan Sumberbeji, a cultural heritage site in the Regency, Jombang, East Java. Through the channel on the west side, clear water from a natural spring continues to flow without stopping.
The existence of the Garuda or Garudeya statue attached to the west wall, inevitably creates a sacred impression in the lightning area.
The constant flow of water makes the ancient pool of water not dry, even if it is hit by drought.
Not surprisingly, for decades, local farmers have used water from the lightning to irrigate the fields. Petirtaan Sumberbeji is located in Sumberbeji Hamlet, Kesamben Village, Ngoro District, Jombang Regency, East Java.
The location is in the middle of a rice field area, near the border between Kesamben Village and Badang Village, Ngoro District.
That place was once a land overgrown with various old trees, tens to hundreds of years old.
The 2,800-square-meter land was previously a sacred place and rarely anyone dared to go inside.
In the eastern part of the village treasury land there is a spring. At the bottom of the spring at a depth of two to three meters, the lightning structure was found. The results of the excavations of the East Java Cultural Conservation Preservation Center (BPCB), for 4 periods from 2019 to August 2021, managed to reveal the shape of the Sumberbeji Petirtaan.
The ancient petirtaan with red brick structure has a square shape measuring 20 x 17 square meters.
In the middle there is a square building which is interpreted as a batur.
On the west side, there is a 14 meter long canal that serves as a channel for the entry of water into the lightning.
Then the canal that serves as the exhaust channel, is on the northeast side.
In the area in the southwest side of the lightning, there is a statue of an eagle. The andesite stone statue is attached to the wall facing east.
It is located between the canal which is the channel for the entry of water to the lightning and the south wall. Overall, the wall structure of the ancient lightning building in Sumberbeji is composed of red bricks, dominated by components from the Majapahit era.
Then, the lightning floor is made of red bricks. The floor is at a depth of two meters from the upper boundary of the wall structure.
Archaeologist BPCB East Java Wicaksono Dwi Nugroho revealed, during the excavation from stage 1 to stage 4, 14 Jaladwara statues were found.
In addition, various types of artifacts or archaeological objects were found from China during the 11th century Song dynasty, and from the Yuan dynasty, 13th to 14th centuries.
Of the various findings, including the Chinese coins, most of them are from the Yuan dynasty. The construction of the Sumberbeji Petirtaan has little resemblance to the Tikus Temple in Trowulan, Mojokerto Regency.
Both are structured from red brick, square in shape and in the middle there is a building structure, and are below ground level.
However, jaladwara found at Petirtaan Sumberbeji during excavations, are more diverse in shape and size.
"In Candi Tikus, the jaladwara found are uniform, different from those in Sumberbeji," said Wicaksono, in Jombang. Petirtaan Sumberbeji is interpreted as a sacred building for worship according to the concept of Samudera Mantana.
The conception is known in Hindu culture, which describes the efforts of the gods to find Tirta Amerta or holy water.
Wicaksono said the interpretation was based on the presence of Batur in the middle of the lightning.
Batur in the middle of Petirtaan Sumberbeji, it was once believed that there was a tower as a parable of Mount Mahameru surrounded by the ocean.
This interpretation is reinforced by the presence of the Garuda Statue on the west wall of the lightning.
"We also find evidence for this, namely the existence of a Garuda statue, which in the concept of Samudera Mantana is closely related to the ocean, as a search for holy water or Amerta," explained Wicaksono.
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