INTRODUCTION

Excavation and restoration works conducted on ancient sites of Southeast Asia brought to light numerous miscellaneous objects installed at different locations inside the walls or in the foundations of ancient temples. These objects include precious and semi-precious stones, figures cut out of gold leaf, fragments of metals, inscribed metal sheets, grains and seeds, often enclosed in containers, such as jars or boxes. The number of excavated containers and stray objects is very high. In the course of my research I could trace over one hundred such finds originating from the temples of Southeast Asia. But their number is certainly higher as not all finds have been documented.

The excavated objects have been mentioned in a number of publications, mainly in the archaeological reports. Yet, there was, until present, no publication in which all the information about these finds could be gathered and analysed as a group. Consequently, no satisfactory explanation of the function and meaning of these finds could be given. A few scholars (see, for example O'Connor 1966 and Mitra 1981) suggested a connection between one or other specific finds and temple construction ceremonies. But no thorough study on this subject was ever conducted. The hints as to how to interpret the excavated objects cannot unfortunately be found in the very regions where the objects were discovered. In Java, Cambodia, Malaysia and Vietnam, where the majority of the objects were found, the indigenous manuals on temple architecture and temple building rituals either did not exist or did not survive. The surviving textual sources – the literary works of Java or Cambodia and the inscriptions – do not mention such objects or their installation within temples.

THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL FINDS

Among the objects unearthed from ancient monuments of Southeast Asia, at least two types can be distinguished on the basis of shared characteristics. The first type consists of cubical containers divided into a fixed number of regular compartments. Inside these compartments were found numerous small items, such as those listed above, namely semi-precious stones, figures cut out of gold leaf, grains, and so on. The second type consists of four bricks and a number of miscellaneous items. At the moment of discovery, the four bricks formed a square and the small items were lying in the middle of them.