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Dieng temples

Hindu temple in Indonesia

Architectural plans, a scale model, maps and brass measuring instruments
Places and architectureInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJun 2, 2026
Entity authorityQ17002130
Source-derived summary

Dieng temples (Indonesian: Candi Dieng) are a group of 7th and/or eighth-century Hindu candi or temple compounds located in Dieng Plateau, near Banjarnegara, Central Java, Indonesia. These edifices originate from the Kalingga Kingdom. The plateau is home to eight small Hindu temples that are among the oldest surviving religious structures ever built in Java and the earliest Hindu temples in Indonesia. The temples show many features of Indian Hindu temple architecture.

The real name of the temples, the history, and the king responsible for the construction of these temples were unknown. This is because of the scarcity of data and inscriptions connected to the construction of these temples. The local Javanese population named each temple according to Javanese wayang characters, mostly taken from the Mahabharata epic.

The Kailasa museum nearby contains many pieces of sculpture removed from the temples.

History

It is unclear when they were built, and were estimated to range from mid 7th century to the end of the 8th century CE; they are the oldest known standing stone structures in Central Java. They are originally thought to have numbered 400 but only eight remain after local farmers removed stone following the draining of the lake in the 19th century.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Dieng temples” as hindu temple in Indonesia. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewA strong orientation record where physical form, institutional use and historical geography need to be read together. The current 202-word lead offers orientation but no explicit four-digit date, so chronology should not be assumed. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. The account is most persuasive where Dieng, temples and Hindu can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as hindu temple in Indonesia. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 2, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q17002130. Authority coordinates are -7.200, 109.900. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank.

Critical limits

A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.

Best used for
  • Historic place names
  • Jurisdictional context
  • Routes into maps and plans
Verify next

Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Dieng temples”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Dieng temples primary sources, Dieng temples archive and Dieng research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Dieng temples”?
  2. What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
  3. Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Dieng temples” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.