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Gunung Padang

Location	Cianjur Regency, West Java, Indonesia
Conventional date	Stone terraces dated by excavators to about 2,100 years ago (charcoal from architectural contexts).
Alternative date proposals	Natawidjaja et al. (2023): Buried pyramid with phases from about 27,000 years ago (paper retracted March 2024) [1][2]
What is measured	Layered units beneath the terraces in cores and geophysics; old radiocarbon ages from soil without artifacts. [1][2]

Five terraces of columnar volcanic stone on a hilltop. The site is an accepted megalithic sanctuary; the debate is about what lies beneath and whether people shaped it.

Claims about this site

Claim	Status	Verdict
Gunung Padang in Java is the world's oldest pyramid	Leading Edge	Open question: 2023 paper retracted March 2024

Sources

Natawidjaja, D. H. et al. (2023). Geo-archaeological prospecting of Gunung Padang buried prehistoric pyramid in West Java, Indonesia. Archaeological Prospection (RETRACTED 18 Mar 2024). doi:10.1002/arp.1912 proponent
Archaeological Prospection (18 Mar 2024). Retraction notice: radiocarbon dates came from soil samples not associated with artifacts or features reliably interpreted as man-made; all authors disagree. doi:10.1002/arp.1932 notice
Ernenwein, E. (2025). Retraction and reflection: the Gunung Padang controversy and the challenges of peer review in archaeological prospection. ArchéoSciences. doi:10.4000/14nul background
Times Higher Education (March 2024). Paper claiming 'world's oldest pyramid' retracted, with the lead author's response and comments from excavators. https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/paper-claiming-worlds-oldes… background

Dates are summarised in our own words from the sources listed. Conventional and alternative dates are both reported; "measured" lists only dated or documented findings. Methodology.