Megalithic Site Found in Indonesia's Illegal Gold Mine

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – A resident of Dongi-Dongi Village, North Lore District, Poso Regency, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia, discovered a megalithic site in an illegal gold mining area within the Lore Lindu National Park (TNLL).

"Greetings. I'm currently in the Dongi-Dongi mining area. This is the submersion area. I've made a very unique discovery. There's an image of a human face on this stone. Like the one in Napu," the resident said in a video received in Palu on Thursday.

The video was also uploaded to the Facebook account of Antun Lawani Mosiang. The footage shows a large stone with a carving resembling a human face, similar to the kalamba stones often found in the Napu Valley.

This discovery has attracted attention because it's located in an area reportedly slated for excavation using heavy equipment. In fact, there's a submersion area for earth material to be processed into gold.

"Here are some of the gold nuggets found today. If possible, how will the stone be rescued?, or what would you call it? Because this is a potential site for excavation, with an excavator," he said.

According to him, the discovery site is within the company's control area.

"This is company territory. If we don't save it, we won't be able to dig all this up. Because the company already owns the area," he said.

The man in the video emphasized the stone's size and distinctive features.

"Its diameter is quite large. So, this is one of the discoveries with a face in our area. This is very unique," he said.

The Dongi-Dongi gold mine has long been known as an illegal mining site (PETI) in the TNLL area. Although permanently closed in December 2021, illegal mining activity has reportedly resumed, dominated by miners from outside the region.

This activity not only has the potential to damage the conservation forest ecosystem but is also feared to threaten the preservation of cultural heritage, believed to be megalithic remains in Central Sulawesi.

Read: Lombok Police Shut Down Illegal Gold Mine After Collapse Injures 3

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