Historical Artifacts Are Supposed to be Preserved and Protected

Don't sell historical artifacts!

It really saddens me when I know that the Indonesian historical artifacts in the Museums are only replicas, because the real ones are sold overseas. Many of the traditional daggers which are exhibited in the Solonese Royal Palace are also replicas, the real ones are sold for big money, and what’s more shocking is that the Solonese King (King Paku Buwono the 13th) did not even sign any letters which states his agreement to sell these historical daggers to someone outside the palace walls – so basically, these daggers were stolen.

In a sugar plantation, in Karangrejo Village, subdistrict of Garum, regency of Blitar, East Java, a statue of Shiva was found. After being examined by archeologists, the statue is now known to be made sometime between the years 700 – 900 AC. However, they later found out that under that plantation, hundreds of statues are still buried underground. Local people were starting to believe that it was probably an ancient city which had been buried through time. The Government of East Java had secured the place so nobody can steal the statues. BUT… of course there are some who were desperate for money and willing to do whatever to sell those statues. Some would sneak into the plantation at night.

I know that the economic value of these statues are very high, but can’t the people see that these artifacts are extremely important to preserve in order to build our national identity? Many people say that “we should move on from  the past”, but in this case, we have to learn how to appreciate our past to be able to face the future. Our ancestors created community, culture, tradition. Because of them, we exist. So when we see a historical artifact, donate it to the museum, to be studied, protected, preserved and looked after.

Alexia.