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Yogyakarta. Archaeologists from Gadjah Mada University have uncovered artifacts that point to thriving trade ties between Java, Asia and the Middle East dating back to the ninth century AD.

The discovery dates back to the Mataram dynasty, and was made at the Dieng Temple complex in Wonosobo and Banjarnegara, Central Java. Scientists had previously thought the temple complex was used only as a place of worship.

“We found pieces that indicate the existence of trade ties between ancient Mataram and China and Persia. They are important for research on the history of Asia and the Middle East,” researcher Inajati Adrisijanti said in a press release.

The artifacts are the oldest ever found by Indonesian researchers on Java.

From the findings, the researchers concluded the Dieng Temple complex was not only a site of worship but also an economic zone.

“Previously, we had found artifacts from the 11th to 13th centuries AD. In excavations at three sites on June 2 to 9, we found Chinese Tang dynasty ceramics from the 9th century,” Inajati said. “The same types of ceramics were found in a shipwreck in waters near Belitung,” he said, referring to the island off the east coast of Sumatra.

Researchers also found broken green and blue Persian bottles, pointing to trade between Java and the Middle East.

Mahirta, who is leading the excavation, said the team was working with John Norman Miksic, from National University of Singapore, and Goh Geok Yian, from Nanyang Technological University of Singapore.

“The focus of our research is the different aspects of public life around the temple. We discovered artifacts at three sites that were near an old well,” Mahirta said.

Miksic said the excavations at the temple, although shallow, were yielding encouraging results. “We’re just digging the soil that has not undergone a transformation. After finding the money, toys and pottery fragments, we then found other artifacts,” he said.

Mahirta said Chinese traders sold ceramics while Persian merchants sold silks in the Indonesian archipelago and brought back spices. “The Persian people passed through sea routes, such as the India Ocean, the Strait of Malacca, the east coast of Sumatra, the northern coast of Java, up to the Molucca Sea,” he said.

These new discoveries by the team at the Dieng Temple complex constitute the earliest direct evidence of extensive trade networks in Java.