Possible New Astronomical Alignments in Cetho Temple Analysed from Digital Sky Simulation Kharisma Nabila (a,b*) and Mahirta (a)
a) Department of Archaeology, Faculty of Cultural Science, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta 55281, Indonesia.
b) Archaeometry Research Centre, National Research and Innovation Agency, Jakarta Selatan 12710, Indonesia
*kharismanabila250[at]mail.ugm.ac.id.
Abstract
Digital sky simulation is designed to overcome the limitations of human observation in reconstructing past celestial events. It enables scholars to open new pathways for interpreting archaeological remains based on astronomical alignments. This study utilizes digital sky simulations, such as SunCalc, MoonCalc, PlanetsCalc, Google Earth Pro, and Stellarium, to simulate the positions of celestial objects based on the landscape and the time at which the Cetho Temples were built ca. 1460 CE. A descriptive-qualitative method was applied to explain the expected research results, and interpretive methods were also applied to strengthen the hypothesis of the alignments. The preliminary findings of this study suggest that the Cetho temple does not align with the surrounding mountains, including Mount Lawu, Merbabu, and Merapi, as observed through Google Earths landscape. Based on findings, it is hypothesized that the Cetho temple was not built with the chthonic concept. The average azimuth of the Cetho Temple is 287.88, and we propose that the orientation of Cetho Temple is aligned with the setting of celestial objects such as the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. These celestial objects may have a relationship with Hindu mythology and its believed deities. The setting of celestial objects may also be related to Hindu worship ceremonies, which are based on the periodic movements of certain celestial bodies. Furthermore, by applying digital technology, the findings underscore the significance of technology in facilitating the interpretation of ancient Javanese astronomical knowledge.
