Gunung Padang Megalithic Site

Gunung Padang is an archaeological site located in Karyamukti, West Java, Indonesia, 50 kilometres southwest of Cianjur [1]. Located at 885 metres above sea level, the site covers a hill—an extinct volcano—in a series of five terraces bordered by retaining walls of stone that are accessed by 370 successive andesite steps rising about 95 metres [1]. It is covered with massive hexagonal stone columns of volcanic origin [1]. Gunung Padang consists of a series of five artificial terraces—one rectangular and four trapezoidal—that occur, in succession, at progressively higher elevations [1]. The terraces are aligned along a central longitudinal NW–SE axis [1]. They are artificial platforms created by lowering elevated areas and filling in depressions until a flat surface was achieved [1]. The perimeters of the terraces feature retaining walls constructed from volcanic polygonal columns [1]. Pottery fragments found at the site were dated by the bureau of archaeology in the range 45 BCE–22 CE [1].