Quaternary Science Reviews 155 (2017) 86e99

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Quaternary Science Reviews

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Archaeological implications of a widespread 13th Century tephra

marker across the central Indonesian Archipelago
Brent V. Alloway a, b, *, Supriyati Andreastuti c, Ruly Setiawan d, John Miksic e, Quan Hua f
a
School of Environment, The University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland, New Zealand
b
Centre for Archaeological Science (CAS), School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia
c
Centre for Volcanology & Geological Hazard Mitigation, Jalan Diponegoro 57, Bandung 40122, Indonesia
d
Geological Survey of Indonesia, Jalan Diponegoro 57, Bandung 40122, Indonesia
e
Department of Southeast Asian Studies, National University of Singapore, 10 Kent Ridge Crescent, Singapore 119260, Singapore
f
Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, Locked Bag 2001, Kirrawee DC, NSW 2232, Australia

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Despite the occurrence of exceptionally large eruptions in the Indonesian Archipelago in recent historic
Received 22 September 2016 times (i.e. Krakatoa 1883, Tambora 1815), no historic tephra beds have been widely identied in the
Received in revised form terrestrial realm that could facilitate the correlation of equivalent aged sequences and/or archaeological
14 November 2016
remains. This study has identied one such tephra bed of 13th Century age that can be correlated
Accepted 15 November 2016
Available online 23 November 2016
throughout central-east Java and now can be unequivocally correlated with the Samalas 1257 A.D. tephra
recently described from Lombok. The occurrence of this historic tephra marker extending
650 km west
from its eruptive source provides the rst opportunity to effect inter-regional correlation over large
Keywords:
Tephra
swathes of central Indonesia. It remains entirely conceivable that in the aftermath of this exceptionally
Archaeology large eruptive event there was considerable westward disruption to subsistence agriculture and trade,
Volcanism food shortages and famine, dislocation of affected populations and socio-political unrest on a scale that
Java equalled or exceeded the catastrophic effects documented from the more recent Tambora 1815 A.D.
Samalas eruption eruption. Indeed the effects of this mid-13th Century eruption can be registered globally in a variety of
Indonesia records from Antarctica, Europe, Middle East and the Americas. Unfortunately, archaeological evidence
indicating such disruption in mid-13th Century Indonesia is yet to be deciphered from the so-far sparse
accounts and inscriptions of that time. However, this paucity of evidence does not diminish the utility of
this widespread tephra bed as a unique chronostratigraphic marker for archaeological studies across
large areas of central Indonesia.
2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Globally, there are few examples where exceptionally large-
magnitude eruptions have catastrophically impacted upon early
historical human populations. The obvious examples are the
eruption of Santorini (Thera) that extinguished the Cycladian
Maritime culture in the eastern Mediterranean during the late
Bronze Age (between c. 1662 and c. 1599 B.C., Bronk Ramsay et al.,
2004), the 79 A.D. eruption of Vesuvius that destroyed the Roman
towns of Herculaneum and Pompeii, the Terra Blanca Joven (TBJ)
eruption of Volc

an llopango in El Salvador between 440 and 550
A.D. that may explain an episode in Mayan history known as the
* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: brent.alloway@gmail.com (B.V. Alloway).
Classic Period Hiatus (Dull et al., 2001, 2010) and the closely spaced
eruptions of Tambora and Krakatoa in Indonesia whose direct and
indirect effects resulted in widespread loss of life in 1815 and 1883
A.D., respectively. In this study we report upon a mid-13th Century
eruption whose products are widely distributed across the central
Indonesian archipelago, and like the Tambora 1815 A.D. eruption is
likely to have had signicant and far-reaching effects not only upon
those populations residing around the eruptive centre itself but
also those living hundreds of kilometers away on adjacent and
down-wind islands. At the time of this 13th Century eruption,
competing kingdoms ourished over large swathes of the western
and central Indonesian archipelago with sophisticated networks of
trade and commerce, and constructing elaborate temple complexes
often with stone inscriptions and iconography that detailed reli-
gious doctrine, deities, rulers and their successors, military

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2016.11.020
0277-3791/ 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 B.V. Alloway et al. / Quaternary Science Reviews 155 (2017) 86e99 87

campaigns, and providing some limited insight into the socio-
political conditions of the time. The purpose of this study is rst
to document the widespread occurrence of this 13th century
eruptive event across east-central Java, compare its distribution
with that of the Tambora 1815 A.D. eruption and its effects, and
then explore the possible connection between this Samalas erup-
tive event and any archaeological evidence that might elude, either
directly or indirectly, to the effects of this earlier widespread
eruption.
2. Background
In the mid-1990's a centimeter-thick, yellow-brown coloured,
vitric-rich tephra bed of ne ash grade was identied on the anks
of Merapi Volcano (Fig. 1) inter-bedded with locally sourced fall-
and ow-units of late Holocene age. It was quickly recognized that
this tephra (then informally named Muntilan tephra (Andreastuti,
2000; Andreastuti et al., 1996, 2000)) was not sourced from Mer-
api Volcano on account of its unique mineralogy, glass geochem-
istry and consistent ne-textured grain-size characteristics that
clearly distinguished it from Merapi-sourced tephra. This same
tephra was also identied within equivalent-aged sequences at
Bromo, Kelut and Ijen volcanoes in central and eastern Java. Glass
shard geochemistry, grain size characteristics and associated
radiocarbon dates were obtained and established clear correlation
(Andreastuti, 2000; Andreastuti et al., 2000). It became quickly
evident that Muntilan tephra represented the product of an erup-
tion from an unknown distal source and most likely, eastward of
Java. In 2013, an exceptional large eruption was described (Lavigne
et al., 2013) in Lombok that occurred in 1257 A.D. from Rinjani
Volcanic Complex (Fig. 1), the dynamics of which were later
described (Vidal et al., 2015). The age and glass geochemistry of the
proximal Samalas Tephra was strikingly similar to that determined
for Muntilan tephra (Andreastuti, 2000; Andreastuti et al., 2000)
and it became clear that the inter-regional tephra we described
across east-central Java in the 1990's was the same as the proximal
event recently described extending westward from Lombok
(Lavigne et al., 2013; Vidal et al., 2015) e although the latter pub-
lication did tentatively correlate Samalas Tephra with Muntilan
tephra on the basis of its similar radiocarbon chronology and trace
element composition from a single distal bulk tephra sample (RIN-
1401-CW1). Muntilan tephra was recently re-sampled and then
geochemically reanalysed at Merapi, Bromo and Ijen Volcanoes.
Samples were also collected on, and analysed from, the paroxysmal
eruptive phase (P4) exposed on the lower north-western and
northern anks of Rinjani Volcano on the island of Lombok to
ensure direct geochemical comparisons being made using the same
analytical instruments. These results are presented here. A number
of organic samples associated with the inter-regional tephra in Java
as well as from proximal Lombok localities were also obtained for
comparative radiocarbon dating.
3. Stratigraphy
3.1. Merapi Volcano (~660 km from eruptive source)
At all localities on the anks of Merapi Volcano (Fig. 1) and
irrespective of their elevation with respect to the present-day

Fig. 1. Map of the central Indonesian Archipelago extending (west to east) from central Java to Flores. The locations of key volcanoes (Tambora, Rinjani, Ijen, Bromo, Kelut and
Merapi) referred to in this study are indicated. Two insets are presented. The rst is centered on Lombok Island and shows the location of proximal Samalas sample sites that are
referred to in this paper. The second is centered at Merapi Volcano in central Java and shows the location of tephra cover-bed descriptive sites (black dots) and those proles
containing Muntilan tephra (green dots) (Andreastuti, 2000; Andreastuti et al., 1996, 2000). Descriptive and sample sites from the more recent continuation of this earlier PhD-
related research are indicated as red dots. Archaeological sites and structures that have been inundated and buried by Merapi-sourced volcaniclastic deposits containing Sama-
las Tephra are also indicated as orange squares. The stratigraphy associated with some of these archaeological sites is presented in Fig. 9. (For interpretation of the references to
colour in this gure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)
88 B.V. Alloway et al. / Quaternary Science Reviews 155 (2017) 86e99

summit, Muntilan tephra has a consistent yellow-brown colour,
ne ash texture and thickness (2e3 cm) (SI Fig. 1). Here, Muntilan
tephra is typically enveloped by centimeter-thick pumiceous and
scoriaceous lapilli beds with ashy-pumiceous-medial andic soil
inter-beds (Andreastuti, 2000; Andreastuti et al., 1996, 2000). At
many southern ank localities (i.e. Deles) Muntilan tephra can also
be observed within andic soil material intervening between
centimeter-thick surge- and pyroclastic-ow deposits (pyroclastic
density current (PDC) deposits). Enveloping PDC deposits
frequently contain charred organic debris enabling bracketing
radiocarbon dates to be obtained. At Merapi Golf Club (Section 86,
Fig. 1, SI Fig. 1), Muntilan tephra correlative is conspicuous in
outcrop preserved beneath a prominent pyroclastic ow containing
bread-crusted bombs and cm-thick Merapi-sourced ne ash and
lapilli beds (Andreastuti, 2000). At lower elevations on the anks of
Merapi Volcano (Section 92 at Muntilan, Fig. 1, SI Fig. 1) Muntilan
tephra correlative typically occurs at ~2 m depth interbedded by
millimeter- to centimeter-thick Merapi-sourced tephra and below a
signicant thickness of anthropogenic-disturbed andic soil
material.
3.2. Bromo volcano (~380 km from eruptive source)
At a road section exposed within Bromo village, two
conspicuous, white vitric-rich ne ash beds occur close to ground
surface and are interbedded with locally-sourced (Bromo) basaltic
and basaltic-andesite ash and lapilli beds (Fig. 2; SI Fig. 2). The
lower millimeter-thick white ne ash is a distal tephra of unknown
source with distinct trachyte-andesite (TA) glass shard chemistry.
The upper centimeter-thick white vitric-rich ne ash is correlated
with Muntilan tephra.
3.3. Ijen Volcano (~240 km from eruptive source)
At Tarmin Sari on the lower anks of Ijen Volcano situated in
east Java, Muntilan tephra occurs interbedded with local-sourced
scoriaceous tephra (Fig. 2; SI Fig. 3). Here, two discrete and later-
ally continuous white vitric-rich tephra beds are observed. The
lower thicker bed appears to have been disturbed, possibly by tree-
throw. Both beds are indistinguishable in glass geochemistry and
have Samalas afnity but there is uncertainty which of these two
tephra beds represent the unit more widely recognized across
central Java. Near the crater rim of Ijen Volcano (Fig. 2; SI Fig. 2), the
upper tephra of Samalas-source can be observed interbedded with
scoriaceous tephra and phreatic to phreatomagmatic explosion
breccia and at some crater rim localities is enveloped by charred
organic debris. The lower Samalas-sourced tephra bed was not
observed at sections proximal to Ijen's crater rim.

Fig. 2. Detailed stratigraphy and chronology of sites containing Muntilan tephra (the Samalas distal correlative is indicated in yellow) extending from Merapi Volcano in central Java
(~660 km from eruptive source) to Ijen Volcano in east Java (~240 km from eruptive source). Note the occurrence of two closely spaced Samalas-sourced tephra beds of indis-
tinguishable composition at Tarman Sari near Ijen Volcano. Laser particle grain-size distributions expressed as microns (mm) versus % volume are also shown. Note the consistent
bimodal distributions with a pronounced medium ash mode (125e250 mm) and a subordinate secondary mode (20e25 mm) that becomes slightly more pronounced with increasing
distance from source. (For interpretation of the references to colour in this gure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)
 B.V. Alloway et al. / Quaternary Science Reviews 155 (2017) 86e99 89

3.4. Proximal stratigraphy, Lombok
The proximal stratigraphy of the Samalas eruptive event has
been previously described (Lavigne et al., 2013; Vidal et al., 2015). In
these investigations numerous exposures reveal a complex erup-
tive architecture of syn-eruptive deposits resulting from debris
avalanche, pyroclastic density current (PDC) and tephra-fall inun-
dation with subsequent post-depositional reworking. In this study,
proximal Samalas 1257 A.D. eruptive deposits exposed on the north
and northwestern lower anks of Rinjani Volcano were described
and sampled for geochemical comparative purposes (Fig. 1). Sam-
ples were retrieved from a variety of volcaniclastic units deposited
during the paroxsymal phase of the eruption. Such deposits include
decimeter-thick, pink-coloured ignimbrite deposits with elutriated
gas pipes and oriented charred tree trunks occurring at the inter-
face of successive ignimbrite deposits (i.e. Lokoaur, R-S6; SI Fig. 4A
and B). Multiple, interbedded meter-thick surge and associated
elutriated (co-PDC) ash deposits (i.e. Montong Pal, S8; SI Fig. 4C)
were also sampled. Many of these PDC deposits exhibit density
segregation of constituents and erosion of bedded structures
within successive PDC deposits (i.e. R-S4, SI Fig. 4D). At many lo-
calities (i.e. S3, SI Fig. 4E) within the PDC ashy matrix, pervasive
open pore networks (indicative of rain ush) can be observed as
well as very prominent centimeter to decicentimeter thick planar
beds of accretionary lapilli (SI Fig. 4F). PDC intra-clasts are also
heavily encrusted with cemented comminuted ne ash. Such
depositional features within these deposits are entirely consistent
with the generation of wet ash clouds during the paroxysmal
phase of this large-scale phreatomagmatic eruption.
4. Chronology
A total of eight radiocarbon samples have so far been obtained
from Merapi and Ijen Volcanoes enabling minimum and maximum
(bracketing) ages to be determined (Fig. 3; Table 1; SI Material 1.0).
At many sites on the anks for Merapi Volcano, Muntilan tephra is
enveloped by PDC deposits (<20 cm thick), which often contain
ne-grained charred plant debris. Two dates of c. 1249 19 cal. A.D.
(818 28 14C years B.P., OZ-T978) and c. 1277 46 cal. A.D.
(780 50 14C years B.P., Wk-4404) were obtained from charcoal
material collected from PDC deposits closely (3e8 cm) overlying
the Muntilan tephra at Kaliadem and Ngangkah sites, respectively.
Another PDC deposit closely (~8 cm) underlying Muntilan tephra at
Deles of the southern anks of Merapi Volcano provides a
maximum age of c. 1114 47 cal. A.D. (955 23 14C years B.P., OZ-
T977). At a section close to the crater rim of Ijen Volcano in East
Java, charred twigs closely (<1 cm) underlying Muntilan tephra was
dated at 1234 22 cal. A.D. (854 22 14C years B.P., OZ-T976) while
charred organic litter associated with a scoriaceous coarse ash bed
closely overlying Salamas tephra yielded ages of 1341 31 and
1328 41 cal. A.D. (695 19 14C years B.P., OZ-T975; 720 50 14C
years B.P., Wk-5616, respectively). Bracketing radiocarbon ages
associated with Javanese occurrences of Muntilan tephra closely
correspond with previously reported AMS (21) and conventional
(1) radiocarbon ages (Lavigne et al., 2013) within, or near the base
of, Samalas Tephra from proximal occurrences in Lombok. The age
of Samalas Tephra proximal to its source is further afrmed by two
new ages of 1252 17 and 1268 18 cal. A.D. (812 20 14C years
B.P., OZ-T979; 785 20 14C years B.P., OZ-T980, respectively)
retrieved from outer portions of two oriented charred tree trunks
within PDC deposits at Lokoaur (R-S6) (SI Fig. 4). Certainty of cor-
relation between Javanese and Lombok occurrences are provided
by close correspondence of radiocarbon chronology combined with
equivalence established from glass shard geochemistry.
5. Glass shard geochemistry and correlation
Glass shard major element determinations (SI Material 2.0)
were conducted on proximal occurrences of Samalas Tephra (Phase
4) on the north-western and northern coast of Lombok. Correla-
tives from Merapi, Bromo and Ijen (previously named Muntilan
tephra (Andreastuti, 2000; Andreastuti et al., 2000)) were also
analysed for comparative purposes (Figs. 4 and 5; Table 2; see SI
Table 1). Results from distal and proximal Muntilan tephra are
indistinguishable and showing a consistently broad distribution of
data points extending over the Rhyolite-Trachyte-Dacite composi-
tional boundaries (Le Maitre, 1984). The correlation of proximal
Samalas samples to distal correlatives is further afrmed by the
correspondence of selected glass major element bivariate data (i.e.
FeO versus CaO, K2O, MgO) (Fig. 5). All major elements from distal
and proximal localities exhibit the same compositional spread and
are geochemically indistinguishable.
6. Glass shard morphology
Backscatter imaging of glass shards from proximal to distal sites
reveal strong morphological similarities. Typically the shards are
highly vesicular with thin arcuate-shaped walls. As previously

Fig. 3. Ages (cal. A.D.) of radiocarbon samples plotted against thickness of andic soil material intervening between the upper or lower contact of Muntilan tephra exposed at Merapi
and Ijen Volcanoes. Note the age of samples retrieved from above (~3 and 8 cm) the Muntilan tephra at Merapi (Wk-4404 and OZ-T978) and immediately below it (<1 cm) at Ijen
(OZ-T976), are near-identical (1s) with those radiocarbon ages (OZ-T979 and -T980) determined from samples occurring within Samalas Tephra from Lokoaur (R-S6), Lombok (this
study, Table 1). These ages are indistinguishable from previously reported AMS (21) and conventional (1) radiocarbon ages (Lavigne et al., 2013). Error bars are 1s.
90 B.V. Alloway et al. / Quaternary Science Reviews 155 (2017) 86e99
Table 1
Radiocarbon sample and age data associated with Muntilan tephra from Merapi and Ijen Volcanoes, Java, and Semalas Tephra from Lombok.
noted (Vidal et al., 2015) sub-micrometer-sized crystal inclusions of
Fe-Ti oxides, feldspars and pyroxenes occur dispersed within the
glassy matrix. Another obvious feature of proximal to distal oc-
currences of Samalas Tephra are conspicuous aggregates of nely
comminuted glassy fragments adhering to vesicle recesses and
voids (SI Fig. 5). These aggregations appear consistent with the
mixing of plinian ash with the elutriated and pulverized ash
products generated by the down-slope passage of successive PDC's
during the paroxysmal Phase 4 of the Samalas eruption (Vidal et al.,
2015) (SI Fig. 4). The occurrence of this nely comminuted glassy
material adhering to larger glass shards is also well reected by the
observed bimodal grain-size distributions from all distal Javanese
correlative sites.
7. Distribution
Thickness values for Muntilan tephra across Java vary from ~2 to
3 cm at Merapi Volcano (~660 km west of eruptive source) to
15 cm at Bromo (~380 km) and a maximum thickness of 22 cm at
Ijen (~240 km) (Fig. 6A). With the exception of Merapi occurrences
where multiple and consistent measurements were made e
Muntilan tephra at Kelut, Bromo and Ijen are laterally discontin-
uous and where present exhibit bedding features indicative of
anthropogenic disturbance (Kelut), overthickening either by
aeolian redistribution (Bromo) and/or slope surface run-off (Ijen).
Despite these variations precluding accurate thickness
measurements and when directly compared with contemporary
accounts of Tambora ash thickness across the same region (Fig. 6
inset), the thickness/distribution of the Samalas event is broadly
comparable (within the constraints of the available data) if not
slightly larger than the Tambora 1815 A.D. event. If the Phase 4 co-
PDC ash-fall isopach map from the 1257 A.D. Samalas eruption
(Vidal et al., 2015) is superimposed upon the isopachs constructed
for the plinian and co-ignimbrite ash fall from the 1815 A.D. Tam-
bora eruption (Self et al., 1984; Kandlbauer and Sparks, 2014) they
are very similar (Fig. 6A). In fact, the calculated minimum DRE ash-
fall volumes for the Samalas and Tambora eruptions are broadly
similar and are calculated at ~25 km3 and 23 3 km3, respectively
(Vidal et al., 2015).
At present, no visible record of 1815 A.D. Tambora-sourced
tephra have been identied within andic soil cover-bed se-
quences of east-central Java despite eye-witness and/or contem-
porary accounts suggesting thicknesses of ~5 cm. However, this
paucity of occurrence may be simply indicative of rapid 19th to 21st
century population growth with correspondingly more intensive
cultivation and ground surface disturbance. Irrespective of this, the
macroscopic distribution of Samalas Tephra across east-central Java
appears more extensive than the 1815 A.D. Tambora eruption.
A comparative measure of eruptive magnitude between the
Tambora 1815 A.D. eruption and earlier Samalas 1257 A.D. eruption
can be evaluated by assessing spatial and temporal patterns of
volcanic sulphate aerosol deposition within high latitude ice cores.
 B.V. Alloway et al. / Quaternary Science Reviews 155 (2017) 86e99 91

Fig. 4. Glass shard major element (wt % Na2O K2O versus SiO2) bivariate plots of Muntilan tephra from Merapi, Kelut, Ijen and Bromo and Samalas Tephra occurring on the lower
anks of Rinjani in Lombok. Samples from all localities exhibit similar compositional spreads across the Trachyte (T)-Rhyolite (R)-Dacite (D) elds (Le Maitre, 1984) and are
indistinguishable. In Inset C0 Merapi bivariate data (in grey-scale) is superimposed on the Lombok dataset for comparative purposes.

Recently, twenty-six ice cores from 19 different sites across
Antarctica have been used in climate model stimulations and to
develop a robust composite record (AVS-2k) of volcanic aerosol
deposition over the last two millennia (Sigl et al., 2014) (Fig. 6B).
This composite record together with improved Greenland ice-core
measurements, have facilitated precise identication of climatically
important bipolar (equatorial-sourced) and unipolar volcanic
events. Not all volcanic events identied across Antarctica were
evenly distributed or produce the same deposition pattern (Sigl
et al., 2014), in fact differences in spatial patterns could result
from differences in meteorological conditions and other factors
such as injection height and seasonal timing. Irrespective of these
variable distributional patterns, the AVS-2k composite record
clearly indicates that the three largest depositional signals are from
the 1257 A.D. Samalas (~73 kg km2), 1458 A.D. Kuwae
(~64 kg km2) and 1815 A.D. Tambora eruptions (~46 kg km2). All
three volcanic events are found in Greenland ice cores and have had
global-scale climate impacts.
If the Samalas eruption contains almost twice the sulphate
deposition across continental Antarctica than the 1815 A.D. Tam-
bora eruption, and the Samalas Tephra is more prominently
expressed macroscopically across east-central Java than the Tam-
bora 1815 A.D. tephra, then the intra-regional impacts during the
13th Century could be correspondingly argued to be as severe, if not
greater, than the later Tambora 1815 A.D. eruption.
8. Discussion
8.1. The Tambora eruption analogue
In the aftermath of the exceptionally large and widespread
Samalas eruption occurring in 1257 A.D. at Rinjani Volcanic Com-
plex (RVC) on Lombok Island (Lavigne et al., 2013), it is very likely
there was considerable westward disruption to subsistence agri-
culture, food shortages and famine, dislocation of affected pop-
ulations, trade disruption and socio-political unrest over large areas
of the central Indonesian archipelago on a scale that equalled or
even exceeded the catastrophic effects documented from the more
recent Tambora 1815 A.D. eruption (Oppenheimer, 2003). Certainly,
an examination of societal effects resulting from this more recent
eruption provide a very useful template by which the earlier
Samalas 1257 A.D. eruption can be interpreted to have adversely
affected populations residing over large areas of central Indonesia.
Gunung Tambora, located c. 150 km east of Lombok, is a massive,
shield-like volcano that dominates much of the Sangaar Peninsula
situated on the northern coast of Sumbawa. In early April 1815,
92 B.V. Alloway et al. / Quaternary Science Reviews 155 (2017) 86e99

Fig. 5. Glass shard major element (wt % FeO versus CaO, K2O, MgO) bivariate plots of Muntilan tephra from Merapi, Ijen and Bromo compared with samples collected from the lower
anks of Rinjani, Lombok. The Merapi, Ijen and Bromo elemental data is superimposed (in grey-scale) upon the Lombok data for comparative purposes. All major elements from
distal and proximal localities exhibit the same compositional spread and are geochemically indistinguishable (Table 2).

following almost a week of minor and intermittent explosions, the
climactic phase of the eruption occurred on April 10e11 that
removed the upper portions of the volcano, generated a ~43 km
high ash column (Sigurdsson and Carey, 1989) and formed a
7  6 km wide caldera that was more than 1 km deep. The isopach
map for the Tambora 1815 A.D. eruption (Fig. 6 inset) was for the
most part based on historical accounts and direct observations, and
later supplemented by ash thicknesses retrieved from marine cores
(Self et al., 1984; Kandlbauer and Sparks, 2014). Tambora-sourced
ash was documented (Zollinger, 1855) to be over ~90 cm thick in
areas proximal to eruptive source (35 km east) while regions
~450e470 km westward received 5 cm of ash fall (Hubbard, 1815).
Traces of ash (<0.1 cm) were also recorded ~1800 km westward as
far as Bengkulu on the south-west coast of Sumatra (East India
Company, 1816).
The Tambora eruption was probably the largest caldera-forming
 B.V. Alloway et al. / Quaternary Science Reviews 155 (2017) 86e99 93

Table 2
Average major element glass shard compositions of Muntilan tephra retrieved from Merapi, Kelut, Bromo, and Ijen Volcanoes, Java, and proximal Salamas Tephra on the lower
northern anks of Rinjani Volcano, Lombok.

Sample (Probe Mount) SiO2 Al2O3 TiO2 FeO MgO MnO CaO Na2O K2O Cl H2O Na2O n
K2O

Merapi ~660 km M-S1 (15-09-02) 68.11 16.93 0.45 2.44 0.59 0.11 2.47 4.79 3.91 0.20 0.07 8.70 22
1.43 1.34 0.08 0.39 0.11 0.03 0.83 0.37 0.55 0.04 0.93 0.29
M-S3 (15-09-03) 68.63 16.40 0.48 2.53 0.62 0.11 2.16 4.64 4.19 0.23 0.68 8.84 22
0.95 0.91 0.07 0.29 0.12 0.03 0.54 0.25 0.40 0.03 1.35 0.25
M-S4 (15-09-04) 68.19 16.79 0.45 2.51 0.60 0.12 2.41 4.73 3.99 0.22 0.41 8.71 19
1.39 1.25 0.06 0.31 0.11 0.03 0.79 0.33 0.55 0.04 0.80 0.29
M-S2 (15-09-06) 68.26 16.67 0.45 2.54 0.63 0.11 2.36 4.72 4.05 0.21 0.02 8.77 22
1.14 0.92 0.05 0.42 0.16 0.03 0.61 0.27 0.42 0.03 0.73 0.24
Merapi-combined 68.30 16.69 0.52 2.51 0.66 0.13 2.11 4.64 4.20 0.15 0.26 8.76 85
1.23 1.11 0.09 0.41 0.11 0.03 0.48 0.29 0.41 0.03 1.02 0.27
Kelut ~466 km Ndorok-2 (16-02-05) 68.71 16.37 0.45 2.54 0.63 0.11 2.36 4.72 4.05 0.21 1.21 8.84 16
1.00 0.81 0.05 0.42 0.16 0.03 0.61 0.27 0.42 0.03 0.86 0.29
Bromo ~380 km B-S1 (upper) (15-12-02) 67.70 17.38 0.42 2.20 0.50 0.10 2.75 4.97 3.80 0.19 0.73 8.77 16
1.44 1.46 0.08 0.38 0.11 0.03 0.88 0.36 0.63 0.04 1.96 0.33
B-S1 (lower) (15-12-01) 60.38 14.81 1.41 9.04 1.96 0.19 4.80 3.10 4.23 0.08 0.94 7.33 21
0.36 0.19 0.04 0.43 0.12 0.03 0.18 0.15 0.17 0.01 0.67 0.12
Ijen ~240 km Ij-S1 (upper) (15-10-01) 68.53 16.48 0.49 2.72 0.70 0.13 2.22 4.44 4.08 0.21 0.53 8.52 21
0.64 0.47 0.04 0.20 0.12 0.03 0.36 0.16 0.31 0.02 0.68 0.22
Ij-S1 (lower) (15-10-02) 68.76 16.37 0.49 2.66 0.66 0.12 2.11 4.46 4.17 0.21 0.56 8.64 20
0.84 0.63 0.04 0.30 0.15 0.03 0.39 0.24 0.33 0.02 0.75 0.23
Ij-S2 (15-10-03) 68.21 17.00 0.44 2.36 0.59 0.11 2.56 4.61 3.91 0.20 0.40 8.52 18
1.95 1.58 0.08 0.46 0.25 0.03 1.07 0.36 0.74 0.05 0.69 0.46
Ij-S3 (15-10-04) 69.08 16.32 0.47 2.56 0.60 0.11 2.04 4.38 4.23 0.20 0.59 8.62 22
0.75 0.59 0.04 0.23 0.11 0.04 0.40 0.19 0.27 0.06 1.37 0.20
Ij-S4 (15-10-05) 68.77 16.40 0.48 2.62 0.67 0.12 2.11 4.41 4.21 0.22 0.75 8.62 17
0.67 0.63 0.03 0.22 0.09 0.02 0.39 0.21 0.27 0.02 0.91 0.25
Ij-S5 (15-10-06) 68.99 16.16 0.49 2.66 0.64 0.13 1.98 4.44 4.29 0.21 1.02 8.73 14
0.61 0.50 0.03 0.15 0.08 0.03 0.33 0.17 0.28 0.01 2.52 0.18
Ijen-Combined 68.73 16.46 0.48 2.60 0.64 0.12 2.17 4.45 4.15 0.21 0.62 8.60 112
1.02 0.83 0.05 0.29 0.15 0.03 0.56 0.24 0.40 0.04 1.23 0.27
Rinjani (<24 km) R-S1 (15-11-01) 69.31 16.10 0.48 2.52 0.55 0.12 1.95 4.37 4.38 0.22 1.59 8.75 18
0.69 0.60 0.04 0.19 0.07 0.02 0.41 0.21 0.27 0.03 1.21 0.20
RS3 (15-11-03) 67.99 17.15 0.49 2.50 0.52 0.11 2.73 4.49 3.83 0.18 1.57 8.32 22
2.29 1.85 0.20 1.11 0.38 0.04 1.29 0.56 0.92 0.05 1.17 0.82
R-S4 (15-11-04) 68.87 16.67 0.46 2.36 0.50 0.11 2.29 4.40 4.16 0.20 1.38 8.56 18
1.60 1.51 0.08 0.54 0.23 0.03 0.90 0.39 0.68 0.04 0.65 0.41
R-S5 (15-11-05) 69.59 16.12 0.47 2.34 0.46 0.11 1.92 4.32 4.47 0.21 1.43 8.79 17
1.23 1.05 0.05 0.27 0.06 0.04 0.64 0.55 0.49 0.05 1.32 0.47
R-S10 (15-12-05) 68.80 16.27 0.49 2.58 0.60 0.12 2.07 4.54 4.30 0.22 1.84 8.85 19
0.71 0.73 0.07 0.26 0.07 0.03 0.44 0.28 0.38 0.02 1.46 0.23
Rinjani-combined 68.86 16.49 0.48 2.47 0.53 0.11 2.22 4.43 4.21 0.20 1.57 8.64 94
1.55 1.31 0.11 0.61 0.22 0.03 0.87 0.43 0.64 0.04 1.18 0.53
All correlatives 68.60 16.57 0.47 2.51 0.60 0.12 2.26 4.45 4.12 0.20 0.84 8.67 323
1.30 1.11 0.08 0.44 0.17 0.03 0.72 0.36 0.52 0.04 1.29 0.37
ATHO-G Glass Std. (Oct. 2nd, 2015) 75.58 12.20 0.26 3.27 0.10 0.10 1.70 3.75 2.64 0.04 0.38 63
0.27 0.08 0.02 0.10 0.02 0.02 0.04 0.40 0.06 0.01 0.45
(Apr 14th, 2016) 75.61 12.20 0.26 3.27 0.10 0.10 1.70 3.75 2.64 0.03 3.70 36
0.52 0.10 0.04 0.23 0.02 0.04 0.03 0.42 0.09 0.01 0.51

All major element determinations were made on a JEOL Superprobe (JXA-8230) housed at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, using the ZAF correction method.
Analyses were performed using an accelerating voltage of 15 kV under a static electron beam operating at 8 nA. Unless specied the electron beam for most analyses was
defocused to 10 mm. All elements calculated on a water-free basis, with H2O by difference from 100%. Total Fe expressed as FeOt. Mean and 1 standard deviation (in pa-
rentheses) based on n analyses. All samples normalised against glass standard ATHO-G. Analyst: B. V. Alloway.

eruption of the last few centuries. In addition to the widespread
destruction and loss of life occurring on Sumbawa and adjacent
islands (Oppenheimer, 2003), the Tambora eruption is attributed to
have caused a ~1  C decrease in world global temperature and was
responsible for exceptionally cold conditions in 1816 that resulted
in widespread crop failure, agricultural stress and anomalously
high food prices in both Europe and North America (Oppenheimer,
2003).
Attaining accurate casualty gures for the Indonesian archipel-
ago most adversely affected by the 1815 Tambora eruption (Sum-
bawa, Lombok, Bali and Java) have presented major difculties as
very few historic records are available with considerable un-
certainties regarding their reliability (see SI Material 3.0). Such
uncertainties become signicantly magnied as one extends
further back in time to the 13th Century.
8.2. 13th Century realms of central Indonesia
Since earliest historic times the western and central portions of
the Indonesian archipelago had been dominated by a succession of
competing Hindu-Buddhist kingdoms that ourished through so-
phisticated maritime-based networks of trade and commerce
(Munoz, 2006; Manguin, 2004). Extensive and elaborate temple
complexes were constructed often with stone inscriptions and
iconography whose archaeological remains today provide us with
some limited insights into the societal, religious and political con-
ditions of the time.
The Srivijaya Empire was a dominant maritime and commercial
(thalassocratic) kingdom whose inuence extended over much of
South-east Asia between the 7th and 13th Centuries (Fig. 7A). This
empire was centered on Palembang located on the south-eastern
94 B.V. Alloway et al. / Quaternary Science Reviews 155 (2017) 86e99

Fig. 6. A. Isopach maps for both Samalas 1257 A.D. and Tambora 1815 A.D. tephras extending from Sumbawa in the east to central Java in the west. Dashed red lines represent the P4
co-PDC ash fallout (Vidal et al., 2015) with corresponding spot thicknesses, while the solid line represents the isopach of Samalas F1 unit (Lavigne et al., 2013). For comparison, the
isopachs of Tambora tephra are superimposed as green dashed lines with associated spot thicknesses. The wider distribution of the 1815 A.D. Tambora ash across the central
Indonesian Archipelago (Self et al., 1984) is shown as an inset. The locations of Tambora, Rinjani and Merapi volcanoes, and sample sites (Ndorok, Bromo and Ijen) referred to in this
study are all indicated. B. The relative scale of Samalas 1257 A.D. and Tambora 1815 A.D. eruptions interpreted from a composite (AVS-2k) ice-core record of volcanic sulphate
deposition over Antarctica (Sigl et al., 2014). Red and blue bars indicate bipolar (suggesting a tropical source) and unipolar sulphate deposition respectively, based on synchronous
sulphate signals in Greenland ice cores. The ten largest sulphate events and their relative rankings are each indicated by numeric labels. The locations of Antarctic ice core sites used
to develop this composite AVS-2k record over the last two millennia are also indicated. (For interpretation of the references to colour in this gure legend, the reader is referred to
the web version of this article.)

alluvial plain of south Sumatra and extended from present-day
south Thailand to west-central Java. This empire ceased to exist
in 1025 when it was conquered by the Chola kingdom of southern
India. Its place as the hegemon over the Straits of Melaka was taken
by another south-east Sumatran polity, Malayu, based in Jambi. By
1268 the ruler of this kingdom had moved to the Rambahan area,
deep in the hinterland of Sumatra. This area continued to be
important, as indicated by brick temple construction and imports of
Chinese porcelain, until around 1343, when the ruler, Adityawar-
man, moved north along the Barisan Mountains to the three valleys
of the Minangkabau people. Currently, there are no available Sri-
vijaya inscriptions for the period 1183e1275 A.D. (Munoz, 2006) e
clearly, a critical time period that encapsulates the 1257 A.D.
Samalas eruption.
Singhasari was a neighboring and emergent Hindu-Buddhist
kingdom that ourished between 1222 and 1292 A.D. and suc-
ceeded the Kingdom of Kediri as the dominant kingdom in east-
central Java (Fig. 7B). Kertanegara was the fth ruler of Singasari
and was the son of the previous king, Wisnuwardhana (r.
1248e1268 A.D.). He effectively held power in east-central Java
from 1254 but only ofcially succeeded his father after his death in
1268 A.D. Kertanegara is known to have put down two rebellions in
Java in 1270 and 1280 A.D., and launched an invasion of Bali (Pabali
Expedition) in 1282 A.D. that integrated the island rmly within the
Singhasari realm. At the present time, there do not appear to be any
Singhasari inscriptions or records that potentially involve socio-
political disruption in east Java or the invasion of Bali with any
circumstances that might even vaguely resemble the expected ef-
fects of the Samalas eruption as predicted by using the Tambora
1815 A.D. eruption as a more recent analogue.
The effects of the Samalas eruption on nearby Bali would have
likely been more pronounced than that experienced further west in
east-central Java. Bali occurring between Java and Lombok, is one of
the most interesting cultures in the Indonesian archipelago. The
discovery of Romano-Indian rouletted pottery on its north coast,
demonstrates that from at least c. 100e200 A.D. Bali had inter-
regional trading relations with the Buni culture in the Sunda area
(west Java) as well as the Arikamedu region of southeast India.
 B.V. Alloway et al. / Quaternary Science Reviews 155 (2017) 86e99 95

to Bengal Lavo to
China

Indrapura
SOUTH
CHINA SEA
Takua pa Chaya Gulf of
to Thailand
Ligor
South
Singora
India Trang

Patani

Kedah

Pekan

Barus Panai

Lingga
Kutai
Malayu Kota
Kapur
PALEMBANG
Tanah
Abang

INDIAN Pasemah JAVA SEA

Tugu
OCEAN Banten
Girang Kedu
Samalas,
Lombok
A. Borobudur
Prambanan

Tajung Pura gold

gold
Warunadwipa SULAWESI
Bakulapura

gems

Pamalayu
Expedition
1275-1293
Bantayan
pepper, slaves
Rambang Putih JAVA SEA
(Tuban)
rice cloves, nutmegs
Madura mace, iron
Salaya
Jaw
adwipa
Merapi
Daha
(Kadri) Hujung Galuh sulphur
Ijen
Bromo horses sandalwood
Core realm BALI slaves
Lumajang
of Singhasari
Kutaraja Sinhasari Pabali
Singhasari (capital city) Expedition
vassal states
1282
Secure commodity and trade network
under Singhasari influence
0 500 km
B.

Fig. 7. 13th Century realms of central Indonesia (modied from Munoz, 2006): A. The maximum extent of Srivijayan inuence in South-East Asia (7th to 13th Centuries) with
commodity and trading routes indicated. B. The extent of the Hindu-Buddhist Singhasari kingdom that ourished in east-central Java between 1222 and 1292 A.D. and at the time of
the Samalas eruption. Secure commodity and trade networks, vassal states and well as military campaign routes (to northern coast of southern Sumatra between 1275 and 1293
A.D. and Bali in 1282 A.D.) are indicated.
96 B.V. Alloway et al. / Quaternary Science Reviews 155 (2017) 86e99
Between 1115 and 1204 A.D. Bali was ruled by a succession of kings,
all of whom, left inscriptions (Munoz, 2006). However, nothing is
known about any events that took place during their reigns. Simi-
larly, the names of the successive rulers between 1204 and 1260
A.D. are also unknown. The last king of this dynasty to leave in-
scriptions was Paduka Parameswara Sri Hyang Adidewalankana
who ruled between 1260 and 1282 A.D. It was during his reign that
Bali, an internally united state, was invaded for the rst time by a
foreign ruler - the Singhasari King Kertanagara. There are no his-
torical references, direct or otherwise, to the presumably lingering
after-effects of the Samalas 1257 A.D. eruption.
8.3. Connecting the Samalas 1257 A.D. eruption to climate and
proxy evidence
In the decades immediately preceding the Samalas 1257 A.D.
eruption, Europe and the Middle East were embroiled in numerous
conicts that resulted in considerably socio-political upheaval and
dramatic demographic changes (see SI Material 4.0). Because of this
sustained conict it becomes a difcult exercise to disentangle
adverse effects from conict-driven societal disruption from that
indirectly caused by the far-ung consequences of the Samalas
1257 A.D. eruption, that occurred at about the same time. Certainly,
it can be predicted that sudden and relatively short-lived eruption-
induced meteorological changes affecting subsistence agriculture
most likely exacerbated societal unrest and led to further conict.
From a relative wealth of contemporary medieval sources (cf.
Indonesian contemporary records, this study), an attempt (Stothers,
2000) was made to associate anomalous meteorological events
chronicled throughout Europe in 1258 that resulted in agricultural
collapse, famine, disease and emergence of unusual social phe-
nomenon (i.e. mass self-agellation) with the aftermath of a large-
scale eruption with stratospheric injection, global circulation of
sulphate aerosols and solar dimming. The source of this eruption
was then unknown but based on its sulphate signature within both
Northern and Southern Hemispheric ice-cores, was thought to have
been sourced somewhere within the tropics. The after-effects of
this eruption in Europe was related (Stothers, 2000) to a pervasive
veil of dry fog (or VOG) recorded in France throughout the summer
of that year (Richer of Sens, 1267) and the reported complete
darkening of the moon during a lunar eclipse on May 18th, 1258
(John de Taxter, 1265) which suggested the occurrence of abnor-
mally high concentrations of stratospheric sulphate aerosols pre-
venting incident sunlight being refracted and scattered into the
shadow cone of the eclipse. The colour of an eclipsed moon is red
under normal stratospheric conditions with background aerosolic
loading (i.e. as experienced in August 31st, 1262) (Anonymous,
1265). The occurrence of very cold European winters in
1257e1258 and 1260e1261 was also documented (Stothers, 2000),
consistent with weather anomalies associated with large-scale
eruptions from the tropics. Heavy summer and autumn rains
were also noted in 1257 and 1258 that ruined crops throughout
England, western Germany, France and northern Italy. Severe
famine occurred in England and France driving thousands of vil-
lagers into cities with many hundreds perishing from hunger and
from disease outbreaks. Grain shortages in 1258 also led to sudden
ination of staple food prices and agricultural commodities.
In addition to climatic and related information from the medi-
eval European chronicles, the Samalas 1257 A.D. eruption appears
to have enhanced an El Nin ~ o-like event in its immediate aftermath
(Emile-Geay et al., 2008). This volcanic forcing producing such an El
Nin~ o-like event can be afrmed from examining proxy evidence
derived from a variety of equivalent-aged, high-resolution records
in the Americas and SE Asia (Emile-Geay et al., 2008; see SI Material
5.0).
8.4. Large magnitude tropical eruptions and ENSO regimes
The possible statistical relationship between the increased
occurrence of El Nin ~ o events and major tropical eruptions, such as
Tambora (1815), Krakatau (1883) and Pinatubo (1991), has been
proposed for some time (Emile-Geay et al., 2008; Adams et al.,
2003; Mann et al., 2005). That is, strong volcanic-inuenced cool-
ing associated with exceptionally high concentrations of strato-
spheric sulphate aerosols, has been implicated in a warming of the
eastern equatorial Pacic within a year after an eruption, with
noticeable air-sea effects extending up to 24 months. This counter-
intuitive response caused by a uniform reduction of incoming
surface radiation (solar dimming) coupled with the deep thermo-
cline and small divergence of the western Pacic warm pool results
in greater oceanic sensitivity to alterations in the surface energy
balance (Emile-Geay et al., 2008). Under these conditions, sea
surface temperatures (SST's) cool faster in the west and reduce the
overall zonal SST gradient. This in turn provokes a slackening of the
trade winds, which promotes additional reduction of the SST
gradient and further enhancement of El Nin ~ o-like conditions.
A 200-member ensemble mean response of NINO-3 ~ in the
Zebiak-Cane model was applied to the strongest eruption of the
millennium (Fig. 8; Mann et al., 2005) (now denitively known to
have been erupted in 1257 A.D. and sourced from Lombok) and
showed that this eruptive event likely enhanced the occurrence of a
moderate-to-strong El Nin ~ o event in the midst of prevailing La
Nin~ a-like conditions, which in itself, was induced by increased solar
activity experienced during the Medieval Warm Period (MWP; c.
900e1250 A.D., Mann et al., 2009).
Fig. 8. A. Modelled evidence of a volcanic-forced El Nino event closely coinciding with
the Samalas eruption (indicated by the red line at 1257 A.D.), Volcanic forcing in Wm2
is indicated by the black curve (Mann et al., 2005) superimposed on a 200-member
ensemble mean response of NINO-3 ~ in the Zebiak-Cane model, after application of a
20-year low-pass lter (blue curve) (Emile-Geay et al., 2008); B. Concentration of lithic
grains occurring in sediments off the coast of Peru as a proxy of continental run-off
after ood (El Nin ~ o) events (Rein et al., 2004). Data is represented as a low-pass
ltered (orange) curve. The Medieval Warm Period (MWP; c. 900e1250 A.D., Mann
et al., 2009) is shaded in blue. From this evidence the Semalas eruption likely
enhanced the occurrence of a moderate-to-strong El Nin ~ o event in the midst of pre-
vailing La Nin ~ a-like conditions, which in itself, was induced by increased solar activity
experienced during the MWP (Mann et al., 2009). Other multiproxy evidence from the
Americas and SE Asia of a volcanic-forced El Nino event closely coinciding with the
Samalas eruption is presented in SI Material 5.0 and SI Fig. 6. (For interpretation of the
references to colour in this gure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of
this article.)
 B.V. Alloway et al. / Quaternary Science Reviews 155 (2017) 86e99 97

8.5. The Samalas eruption
The Samalas Tephra can now be condently traced ~700 km
west from its Lombok source to sites in central Java. The distal-most
extent of Samalas Tephra further west across Java has yet to be
dened. At Tarmin Sari on the lower anks of Ijen Volcano in east
Java, two closely spaced vitric-rich ne ash beds of Samalas source
are identied, with only one bed so far being recognized westward
to central Java (SI Fig. 3A). Both beds are geochemically indistin-
guishable (SI Fig. 3B).
Based on historical accounts from the Tambora 1815 A.D.
eruption, there can be no doubt that the Samalas 1257 A.D. eruption
was an equally, if not more, devastating event resulting in wide-
spread loss of life and livelihood throughout large areas of central
Indonesia during the mid-13th century. Its immense eruptive scale
is registered by high volumes of Antarctic-wide sulphate deposition
(Sigl et al., 2014) e almost 1.6 times that of the Tambora 1815 A.D.
event. Anomalous climatic conditions resulting in widespread crop
failure, precipitating famine and dislocation of peoples have been
recorded from a number of contemporary sources throughout
Europe and the Middle East (Stothers, 2000). At the same time, a
sudden switch to El-Nin ~ o-like conditions can be consistently
recorded in a number of high-resolution proxy records retrieved
from a wide latitudinal spread in the Americas (Emile-Geay et al.,
2008; SI Fig. 6; see SI Material 5.0) and South-east Asia (Li et al.,
2011). Collectively these records supported by modeling studies
(Adams et al., 2003; Mann et al., 2005) indicate that exceptional
large tropical eruptions (i.e. the Samalas 1257 A.D. event) might
volcanically force El Nin~ o-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events. It
appears that ENSO is inuenced by volcanic eruptions with a
radiative forcing greater than ~3.3 to 4 Wm-2. The threshold be-
tween transition and forced regimes corresponds with the

Fig. 9. Archaeological sites in central-east Java where Muntilan tephra layers (distal Samalas correlatives) have been identied within the overlying cover-bed stratigraphy. The
locations of Lumbung, Kedulan and Sambisari temples on the anks for Merapi Volcano are indicated in Fig. 1, whereas Ndorok temple is located on the north-west lower anks of
Kelut Volcano. The occurrence of Muntilan tephra within the volcaniclastic stratigraphy overlying Candi Kadisoka is described in Andreastuti et al. (2005).
98 B.V. Alloway et al. / Quaternary Science Reviews 155 (2017) 86e99
magnitude of the Kratakau and Pinatubo eruptions (Emile-Geay
et al., 2008). The magnitude of the Samalas eruption signicantly
exceeds that threshold.
At the time of the Samalas eruption several socially advanced
kingdoms with written records dominated large areas of the central
Indonesian archipelago. The almost ubiquitous occurrence of
archaeological sites across this region with stone inscriptions and
iconography provide ample opportunities for recorded events of
that time to be implicated, either directly or indirectly, in the ex-
pected effects of this widespread eruption. Currently there are no
available Malayu inscriptions for the period 1183e1275 A.D.
(Munoz, 2006), clearly a critical time period that encapsulates the
1257 A.D. Samalas eruption. Nor do there appear to be any Sin-
ghasari inscriptions or records that potentially implicate the
Samalas eruption in socio-political events. The effects of the
Samalas eruption on nearby Bali almost certainly would have been
more pronounced than that experienced further west in east-
central Java. The reign of the Balinese King Paduka Parameswara
Sri Hyang Adidewalankana (1260e1282 A.D.) was ended by the
Singhasari invasion led by King Kertanagara. The obvious question
remains as to why neighboring Lombok wasn't similarly invaded.
One possibility is that Lombok in the two decades following the
Samalas 1257 A.D. eruption hadn't recovered to the point of being a
signicant enough socio-economic prize to warrant the launching
of an expensive military campaign against.
Similarly, very little is known about the devastating effects of
the Samalas eruption upon the resident population of Lombok. The
Babad Lombok (Wacana, 1979) chronicles the existence of the
Pamatan kingdom centered in east Lombok and adjacent to Rinjani.
The capital city of this kingdom has been imaginatively referred to
as a Pompeii of the Far East should it ever be located and uncov-
ered (Lavigne et al., 2013). At present, there is no direct evidence
linking the demise of this little known kingdom with the Samalas
eruption nor is there much known about later succeeding king-
doms (i.e. Suwung), at least, in the time up to the invasion of
northern Lombok by Majapahit forces closely following the inva-
sion of Bali in 1343 A.D. e almost a century after the Samalas
eruption.
9. The utility of Samalas Tephra for inter-regional
archaeological studies
The distinct lack of archaeological references within those
realms that might associate the expected effects of the largest
tropical eruption of the last two millennia to socio-political events
of that time is both surprising and inordinately frustrating. How-
ever, the physical occurrence of the tephra itself may be just as
important for the dating of equivalent-aged sequences that are
intimately associated with contemporary or earlier archaeological
sites and structures. Currently there are at least four archaeological
sites on the anks of Merapi Volcano and a site near Kelut Volcano
(Ndorok) where the Samalas Tephra can be positively identied
within dominantly uvio-laharic sequences that have inundated
and buried temple sites (Newhall et al., 2000; Andreastuti et al.,
2005) (Fig. 9). Three temples (Sambisari Kadisoka and Kedulan)
occur in the lower southern anks (~30 km from the present-day
Merapi summit) whereas the fourth (Lumbung) occurs on the
western lower anks (~10 km from the present-day summit). Candi
Sambisari was built in the 9th century (812e838 A.D.) (Soediman,
1976), whereas Candi Kedulan and Lumbung were built in 869
A.D. (791 Syaka) and 860 A.D. (782 Syaka), respectively. The con-
struction age of Candi Kadisoka is more uncertain since only the
base of the temple is preserved. It appears that the temple was
unnished when it was inundated by volcaniclastic debris. Samalas
Tephra closely (~62 cm) overlies the temple remains (Andreastuti
et al., 2005) and based on the transfer of a radiocarbon age
(780 50 14C yrs B.P., Wk-4404) closely associated with Samalas
Tephra at Ngangkah on Merapi Volcano (Figs. 1 and 2) provides a
minimum age of c. 1277 A.D. The age of Candi Ndorok located NW of
Kelut Volcano in the absence of inscriptions is unknown, but
considered to have been built sometime in the 10th Century.
In all these cases, the interpreted stratigraphies indicate that the
generation of PDC-deposits and associated remobilized (secondary)
volcaniclastic products from directly adjacent erupting volcanoes
were primarily responsible for the inundation and burial of these
temples (Andreastuti et al., 2005). Certainly, the recognition of
Samalas Tephra within the overlying stratigraphy provides a useful
additional chronostratigraphic tool by which the age for these
temples as interpreted from inscriptions can be validated and
supported.
The lack of correlation in central Indonesia between this large
magnitude mid-13th Century eruption and contemporary historical
sources within Indonesia itself, especially when insights already
exist into the regional, and indeed global, consequences of the more
recent Tambora 1815 A.D. eruption, suggest that Indonesian soci-
eties of the time were likely accustomed to volcanic catastrophes.
Presumably, through their highly developed inter- and intra-
regional trade and commerce networks (i.e. Fig. 7) these sophisti-
cated societies were somewhat resilient to eruption effects and able
to respond and adapt relatively effectively to these kinds of envi-
ronmental challenges. The connection between this exceptional
mid-13th century eruption and contemporary societal accounts
from central Indonesia should eventually emerge from future
archaeological ndings.
Acknowledgements
This research originates from a PhD related eldwork conducted
by SA and supervised by BVA under a NZODA study award as part of
a Development Cooperation Programme between New Zealand and
the Republic of Indonesia. The PhD scholarship awarded to SA was
provided by the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade
(MFAT). Dr's Wimpy Tjetjep, R. Sukhyar, M.A. Purbawinata, and A.
Ratdomorpurbo, are all thanked for their contributions to, and
support of, this PhD research in the late 90's. The more recent
continuation of this research has been generously supported by Dr
R. Edy Prasodjo, Head of the Centre for Volcanology and Geological
Hazard Mitigation (CVGHM), Dr Agung Pribadi, former Head of the
Geological Survey of Indonesia (VSI), and Dr Gert van den Bergh
(CAS, University of Wollongong). Matt Ryan and Dr Ian Schipper,
Victoria University of Wellington, are thanked for their support in
application of the OxCal 4.2 program to radiocarbon dates and
acquisition of EMP data, respectively. The authors acknowledge the
funding from The Australian Institute of Nuclear Science and En-
gineering for AMS 14C (OZ) analyses (AINSE grant 16/001). The
authors also thank an anonymous reviewer for his/her constructive
comments, which improved the manuscript.
Appendix A. Supplementary data
Supplementary data related to this article can be found at http://
dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2016.11.020.
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