A unique find has given archaeologists new answers to Java’s mysterious ancient golden past. It was in 1990, when gold treasure was discovered near Yogyakarta in central Java, in the small village of Wonoboyo, just a few kilometres from the renowned temple of Prambanan. Several village workers were digging in a sugar cane field and struck three sealed terracotta jars. Inside the buried containers was a glittering hoard, over 6000 gold and silver coins and more than 1000ceremonial objects, including bowls and jewelry. The discovery created excitement in the archaeological circles: could Wonoboyo be the site of the lost Javanese palace of the ancient Mataram kingdom.

The palace dated back from the glorious 9th and 10th centuries of central Java’s history, which marked the merging of Hinduism and Buddhism, giving birth to the great temples of Borobudur and Prambanan. But while the ornamental style of the Wonoboyo type resembles the…