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A bowl found in Tambora village |
In 1815, on Sumbawa Island in Indonesia, a volcanic eruption of Mount Tambora buried the village of Tambora, resulting in the deaths of approximately 100,000 people. Archaeologists have dubbed this village the “Pompeii of the East.”
According to archaeologists, the artifacts found (including bronze items, ceramics, and works of art) suggest that there was a relatively advanced civilization (ancient Indonesian civilization) present here. The remnants from the volcanic burial also indicate that the residents were quite prosperous and had connections with Vietnam and Cambodia.
Archaeologists state that the volcanic eruption acted like a glass dome over Tambora, allowing people to still see the houses, culture, and inhabitants of Tambora almost intact, as if it were still the year 1815, nearly 200 years later.
This city spoke a Mon-Khmer language, a type of language that is still sporadically used in Southeast Asia today.
The village was first discovered in 2004 by Professor Sigurdsson and colleagues from the University of North Carolina, along with Indonesian scientists.
According to scientists’ estimates, the eruption of Mount Tambora directly claimed the lives of 10,000 people. The aftermath of the eruption filled the air with ash, leading to a cold year in 1816, with disease and crop failures causing an additional 117,000 deaths.
Kinh Luân
