Discovered accidentally by a local farmer plowing his field in 1966, Candi Sambisari is a remarkably intact 9th-century Hindu temple complex located near Yogyakarta on the island of Java, Indonesia. Built during the height of the Mataram Kingdom under the Sanjaya Dynasty, the temple vanished from historical records around the 10th century. It was completely buried beneath a six-meter-thick layer of dense volcanic ash and mud lahar thrown out by the eruptions of the nearby Mount Merapi volcano.
Because it was sealed underground for a millennium, Sambisari escaped the stone looting and weathering that damaged other Javanese monuments. The excavation and restoration project, which lasted over two decades, revealed a temple complex that sits inside a large, sunken walled courtyard. The complex consists of a single large main temple facing west, accompanied by three smaller ancillary shrines (pervara) lined up directly in front of it.
The main temple rests on a plain rectangular basement canvas, accessed via a stone staircase guarded by detailed sea-monster carvings (Makara). Inside the elevated square cellar sits a highly revered stone lingam and yoni pair, the traditional abstract representations of Shiva and Parvati, along with three outer niches housing intact statues of Durga, Ganesha, and Agastya. The discovery of gold foil dedication plates inscribed with protective mantras beneath the temple floor confirms that Sambisari operated as a high-status regional shrine, preserved by the volcanic force that originally buried it.
