US lab validates Indonesian ancient structure theory

A recent analysis of carbon-dating by the Miami-based Beta Analytic Lab has apparently validated findings by an Indonesian team that a man-made structure, buried under Mount Padang in Cianjur, West Java, is older than the Giza pyramids, local media reported on Monday. The U.S. carbon-dating results showed that the prehistoric structure could date back to 14,000 BC or beyond. The lab used samples of sand, soil and charcoal found at a depth of between three and 12 meters beneath the mountain's surface. The Giza pyramids were constructed around 2,500 BC. "The analysis of the Miami lab dismisses doubts over an earlier test conducted by the National Nuclear Agency. There is no more doubt that the structure beneath Mount Padang is older than the Giza pyramid," geologist and member of the Mount Padang research team Budianto Ontowirjo said on Sunday. A group of researchers, coordinated by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's special advisor on disaster mitigation and social assistance Andi Arief, commissioned a study about the ancient structure buried under Mount Padang at the beginning of this year. Andi reportedly believes Indonesia was inhabited by people with sophisticated technology after he found much evidence beneath the land and sea around Sumatra, Java and Bali. Yudhoyono has given his support to the project. In February, the group published its findings, claiming that the structure might change the history of the nation as we know it. Indonesia's history might well start before 4 AD. "If the structure beneath the mountain is naturally constructed, then the age revealed by carbon-dating process should have been much greater," Budianto was quoted as saying by the Jakarta Post daily. Any natural material buried between three and 12 meters under the surface should have been millions of years in age, Budianto said. The fact that the material beneath Mount Padang is relatively young indicates that it probably is man-made.