TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian Geological Agency has expressed doubt about the existence of a civilization 75,000 years ago that built a pyramid-like structure in Lake Toba, North Sumatra.

Muhammad Wafid, the agency's acting head, said that information on the discovery needs to be clarified.

"The explanation from Dani Hilman, the discoverer of the pyramid, has become a very important starting point. However, the Geological Agency considers it important to detail some key points in this context," he said in a statement on Friday, October 20, 2023.

As an institution that focuses on geology and earth history, the Geological Agency has conducted studies and voices its doubts about the existence of a civilization during the formation of the Toba Lake caldera.

Conclusive evidence of a civilization in the caldera during that period is said to be very small or even non-existent, he said.

"The Geological Agency does not yet have specific information related to the discovery of the pyramid," he added.

However, the agency has two explanations for the pyramid-like structure.

First, the structure may be the result of the many triangular facets on the hills of the Toba Lake.

Second, the triangular facet probably formed after the Toba caldera's formation 75,000 years ago, and was later used by civilizations that lived after the event.

"In the history of human civilization, Homo sapiens continued their expansion and inhabited the Asian continent about 60 thousand years ago, with one wave of migration through the coastline of the Indian Ocean," he said.

He assured that the Geological Agency is committed to continuing studies on the discovery with adequate resources.

Earlier, researchers from the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) said that they found a pyramid-like structure in Bakti Raja, Hasundutan District, North Sumatra.

Locals call it "Hill A" due to its resemblance to the letter A.

ANTARA

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