The Civilization Beneath the Volcano (Part 5)
As we step into the next era after the great volcanic eruptions, the stones that once told stories of fire and creation now whisper about human civilization — how people adapted, believed, and built their world upon ancient landscapes.Bondowoso, as it turns out, preserves one of the most complete chains of civilization in East Java — from the Megalithic, Classic, Colonial, to the Modern era we live in today. The Megalithic Legacy The Megalithic period in Bondowoso is visible everywhere — through the countless sarcophagi, dolmen, kenong stones, and cylindrical stones scattered across its land.Visit Grujugan or Pusat Informasi Majapahit (PIM) Museum in Bondowoso, and you’ll find these artifacts still standing, not as told in the classroom, but in their original soil — allowing visitors to touch history, to sense the craftsmanship carved by ancient hands. These stones, locally known as Megalithic sites, hold more than archaeological value — they are…
From the Ancient Sea to the Rise of Volcanoes: The Birth of the Ijen Caldera (Part 2)
Delivered in a presentation meeting by Hosnul Wahid at Ijen-Geopark Bondowoso office. Roughly 30 million years ago, deep beneath what is now East Java, the earth began to move.The tectonic plates — those massive slabs of the earth’s crust — slowly collided and pushed against each other. Some plates were thick and heavy, others thin and flexible. When they met, the heavier plates were forced downward, sliding beneath the lighter ones. As these movements continued, the pressure and heat deep underground built up, and the molten rock — magma — began to seek a way to escape.That movement, that ancient pressure, was the birth of volcanoes. The Ancient Volcanoes of Southern Java If we look back to those times, many of Java’s earliest volcanoes formed along its southern coast — ancient giants that are now long extinct. Over millions of years, wind, rain, and sea waves eroded their peaks. What…
Understanding Ijen Geopark: The Earth’s Story (Part 1)
Delivered in a presentation meeting by Hosnul Wahid at Ijen-Geopark Bondowoso office. “What is a Geopark?” A Geopark is a kind of geographical model — an area based on its geological characteristics. It can stand alone as a single region — a district, a village, or a regency — or it can span across multiple regions, provinces, even countries.” That’s why we introduced Ijen Geopark, a vast geological park connecting two regencies on the eastern tip of Java: Bondowoso and Banyuwangi. Two different landscapes and cultures, united under one natural and geological heritage. The Earth as a Living Museum “Geopark literally means a park of the earth.”It is not merely a beautiful natural site but a place that preserves and celebrates geological heritage — the rocks, landforms, fossils, and the human civilizations shaped by them. Yet, a Geopark goes beyond geology. It also embraces biological heritage, biodiversity, and the way…
Marching Into An Active Volcano With The Sulfur Miners Of Ijen, Indonesia
IBTimes: Marching Into An Active Volcano With The Sulfur Miners Of Ijen, IndonesiaPhoto and Text: Mark Johanson
Volcanic Sacrifice at Sulfur Mine
http://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/volcanic-sacrifice-at-sulfur-mine/photo: Ulet Ifansasti