Latest / The Srivijaya Empire: Southeast Asia's Forgotten Maritime Superpower — Fexingo History / Srivijaya's Gunung Wingko Gold and the Mysterious Hill of Coins
Transcript
- Lucas: So, over the past many episodes we've talked about Srivijaya's trade networks, its Buddhist monasteries, its wars with the Chola — but one thing we've never really touched on is the actual physical wealth of the empire. What did Srivijayan money look like? Where did they keep their treasures? Luna: I guess I always assumed they just used Chinese cash or bartered with spices. Lucas: That's part of it, but there's a really fascinating archaeological site in central Java that might be a Srivijayan treasury — or at least something connected to the same trade world. It's called Gunung Wingko, which literally means 'Wingko Hill' — and it's not actually a natural hill. It's an artificial mound made almost entirely of clay and pottery fragments, about 30 meters high, sitting on the south coast near Yogyakarta. Luna: An artificial hill made of pottery? That's a lot of broken pots. Lucas: It is. And when Dutch archaeologists first excavated it in the 1930s, they found something incredible: thousands of gold and silver coins, Chinese Tang dynasty cash, and ritual objects — rings, beads, small statues. The coins alone numbered in the thousands. And the really curious thing is that the hill is not near any major ancient settlement. It's isolated, about 3 kilometers inland from the coast, surrounded by rice fields. Luna: So was it a hiding place? A temple treasury? Lucas: Both theories have been floated. One idea is that it was a kind of royal bank — a secure deposit for the Sailendra or Sanjaya kings who ruled central Java in the 8th to 10th centuries. Another is that it was a ritual deposit, maybe a foundation offering for a now-lost temple. But the sheer volume of coinage suggests something more than a simple votive cache. Lucas: The coins themselves tell a story. The most common type found at Gunung Wingko is what numismatists call the 'sandalwood flower coin' — a small gold coin stamped with a flower-like design that resembles the sandalwood tree's blossom. These coins were produced locally in Java from the 9th century onward, and they've been found not just at Gunung Wingko but also at sites like Candi Gumpung in Jambi — Srivijaya's heartland. Luna: So the same coins appear in Srivijayan Sumatra and in central Java. That's a direct economic link. Lucas: Exactly. And alongside the sandalwood flower coins, they found silver punch-marked coins — these are much older, based on Indian prototypes. Some even have what looks like a ship symbol on them, which makes sense for a maritime empire. And then there are Chinese Tang dynasty cash coins with square holes, dating from the 7th to 10th centuries. That mix tells us that Gunung Wingko was part of a network stretching from India to China. Luna: But if it's in central Java, and the Sailendra dynasty there was Srivijaya's rival at times, why would a Srivijayan treasury be there? Lucas: Great question. And it gets to the heart of a controversy. Some scholars argue that Gunung Wingko isn't Srivijayan at all — it's Javanese. The Sanjaya dynasty, which was Hindu and competed with the Buddhist Sailendra, ruled much of central Java from the 8th century. But the coins and objects found there are also found in Srivijayan contexts. It's possible the site was used by both powers, or that it predates the political split and represents a common cultural economy. Lucas: There's also a local Javanese name for these sandalwood flower coins — 'mas krisna' or 'krisna gold'. The word 'krisna' itself means 'black', which might refer to the dark gold alloy. But the sandalwood flower motif is purely Southeast Asian. It doesn't come from India or China. So it's a local innovation that became the standard for trade across the region. Luna: That's a good point — it's not just imported stuff, it's local production. So Srivijaya had its own minted currency. Lucas: They did. And Gunung Wingko might be the largest single hoard of that currency ever found. But the mystery is why it was buried on a hill made of pottery. The pottery itself is mostly broken clay vessels, many of them ritual offering pots. Some archaeologists think the entire hill was built as a ceremonial site, maybe a place for annual harvest festivals or royal ceremonies where coins were offered to the gods. Luna: If today was actually useful to you, the way these stay ad-free is listener support — buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Just a small way to keep the history coming without interruptions. Lucas: Absolutely. And we're glad you're listening. So back to the hill — one of the most curious finds at Gunung Wingko is a set of small gold plaques with figures of deities, probably from the 10th century. They show Hindu gods like Ganesha and Vishnu, but also Buddhist bodhisattvas. So the site itself might reflect the religious pluralism of the time. Luna: That mix of Hindu and Buddhist in one treasury is interesting. Was Srivijaya mostly Buddhist? Lucas: The Srivijayan elite were predominantly Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhist, but they coexisted with Hindu communities, especially in Java. The Sailendra kings were Buddhist, but they built Borobudur, which incorporates Hindu elements. So the religious boundaries were fluid. Gunung Wingko might have been a deposit for both faiths. Lucas: Another theory is that the hill was a kind of customs post or tax collection center. The south coast of Java was a major route for ships traveling between India and the Spice Islands. Ships would stop, pay duties in coin, and the collected wealth was stored temporarily at Gunung Wingko before being shipped to the capital. The pottery layers could be the remains of daily life at such a post. Luna: So it's like a medieval port authority building, but made of trash. Lucas: Basically. Except 'trash' here includes gold coins. The pottery was likely discarded cooking vessels and storage jars from the people living there. Over decades, the debris built up into a hill. Then, when the site was abandoned — maybe after a volcanic eruption or political change — the coins and valuables were left behind. Lucas: The abandonment date is uncertain, but most coins date to the 10th century, with nothing later than about 1000 AD. That coincides with the decline of Sailendra power in central Java and the shift of power to eastern Java under the Mataram kingdom. It's possible Gunung Wingko was simply forgotten as trade routes changed. Luna: Were there any human remains found? It sounds like a lot of wealth for nobody to come back for. Lucas: No human remains, which is another mystery. Usually hoards are hidden by someone who intends to retrieve them. But here, the coins were scattered through the hill layers, not neatly buried in a chest. That suggests they were lost gradually, or perhaps scattered as part of a ritual. Some of the gold objects were found in small clay pots, almost like offerings. Lucas: There's also the question of why the hill is made of pottery. One theory is that the site was a kiln center for making roof tiles or pottery, and the clay mound is just industrial waste. But the presence of so many coins and ritual items suggests it wasn't purely industrial. It might have been a temple that also produced pottery. Luna: So we have a pottery factory, a treasury, a customs house, a temple — all rolled into one artificial hill. Lucas: And that's why Gunung Wingko is so fascinating. It doesn't fit neatly into any category. It challenges our assumptions about how Srivijaya and its neighbors managed their economy. Most historical records talk about trade in general terms, but here we have concrete evidence of coin circulation, ritual economy, and international connections. Lucas: Unfortunately, the site was heavily looted in the 20th century. Many of the coins ended up in private collections. But the Dutch excavations from the 1930s were well documented, and those records survive. In recent years, Indonesian archaeologists have renewed study of the site, including ground-penetrating radar to see if anything remains underground. Luna: Have they found anything new? Lucas: A few more coins and pottery fragments, but the major treasures are long gone. Still, the site itself is protected now as a cultural heritage area. And it's given us a unique window into the material life of the Srivijayan world — a world where a pile of broken pots could hide a fortune in gold. Luna: It makes you wonder what other hills out there are full of coins. Lucas: Exactly. And that's the thing about Southeast Asian archaeology — so much is still underground. Gunung Wingko is just one example. There are dozens of similar mounds across Java and Sumatra that haven't been properly excavated. Each one could rewrite what we know about the region's economic history. Lucas: So next time you see a funny-looking hill in a rice paddy, it might not be a hill at all — it might be a lost treasury.