Expert believes Ancient Ship Lies Trapped In Hill In Lampung

Bakauheni, Lampung province, Feb 5 (Antara) - An ancient ship was trapped inside Kepayang hill, south of Lampung province during the tsunami that hit the area following the eruption of mount Krakatau in 1883, according to an independent researcher Hadi Subroto. "A geoelectrical test has shown that there is an object, believed to be the hull of a ship, trapped inside Kepayang hill. According to the image detected after the test, the ship is in an upside down position with the hull at a height of 15 meters at least," Hadi stated. According to him, a photo satellite and land analysis of the hill had been conducted earlier and the result indicated that there was a ship trapped inside Kepayang hill at the height of 155 meters above sea level. Over the years and due to several landslides, the body of the ship has moved down from the hill and it currently stands at 25 to 30 meters from the bottom of the hill. Hadi added that he had tried to manually dig a hole on Kepayang hill to reach the body of the trapped ship. "The excavation will take six months," he explained. Meanwhile Secretary to Lampung province`s administration Sutono stated that the local government will fully support the research to find the body of the ship trapped inside Kepayang hill. "This research is important for Indonesia`s history and tourism," he remarked. He pointed out that if the ship truly exists, the Lampung government plans to make Kepayang hill a cultural and archeological site.