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It is believed that the Dieng plateau was once a completely self-contained retreat for priests and pilgrims. Unfortunately, it soon became completely waterlogged, and the entire plateau was eventually abandoned in the thirteenth century, only to be rediscovered, drained and restored in the nineteenth century. The eight temples left on Dieng today are a tiny fraction of what was once a huge complex built by the Sanjayas in the seventh and eighth centuries. Of these temples, the five that make up the Arjuna complex (daily 6.15am-5.15pm; Rp3000 fee payable at the village kiosk), standing in fields opposite Dieng village, are believed to be the oldest. They have been named after heroes from the Mahabharata tales, although these are not the original names. Three of the five were built to the same blueprint: square, with two storeys and a fearsome kala head above the main entrance. The northernmost of these two-storey temples, the Arjuna temple , is the oldest on Java (c680 AD). Dedicated to Shiva, the temple once held a giant lingam (phallic-shaped stone), which was washed by worshippers several times a day; the water would then drain through a spout in the temple's north wall. Next to Arjuna stands Candi Srikandi , the exterior of which is adorned with reliefs of Vishnu (on the north wall), Shiva (east) and Brahma (south). Candi Gatutkaca overlooks the Arjuna complex 300m to the southwest, and twenty minutes' walk (1km) south of here stands the peculiar-looking Candi Bima , named after the brother of Arjuna. Rows of faces stare impassively back at passers-by from the temple walls, a design based on the temples of southern India.
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