Archaeology & History

Gunung Padang: 'world's oldest pyramid' dates back up to 27,000 years

By T.K. Randall
November 4, 2023

Image: Gunung Padang
Credit: RaiyaniM / CC BY-SA 4.0 (adapted) Situated in West Java, Indonesia, Gunung Padang has long remained one of the most mysterious and hotly debated sites in archaeology.

Located 885 meters above sea level, the site, which covers an extinct volcano, consists of a series of steps and terraces and is home to thousands of hexagonal stone columns that are strewn everywhere.

For years, scientists have struggled to agree on exactly how old the site is, but now new radiocarbon dating tests have revealed that the oldest parts of the structure date back at least 16,000 years and could even date back as far as 27,000 years.

Construction was abandoned around 14,000 BC before beginning again between 7900 to 6100 BC.The most recent part of the structure was completed sometime between 2000 and 1100 BC.

If Gunung Padang really is over 16,000 years old, then it predates the Egyptian pyramids, Stonehenge and even Turkey's Gobekli Tepe - a site that had already shaken up our understanding of what our ancestors were capable of around 11,000 years ago.

Beyond that, if construction of the site dates back 27,000 years, then it completely rewrites the history books and opens up big questions about our history.

Researcher Graham Hancock, who covered Gunung Padang in his Netflix series Ancient Apocalypse, has long suggested that the site was built by a civilization long lost to time.

If these new findings are to be believed, he may have been on to something all along.

Source: BBC News

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