trying to explain the origin of temples, infused with myths of giants, a cursed princess, and thus gave Prambanan and Sewu a wondorous origin said to be created by multitude of demons under the order of Bandung Bondowoso, according to Loro Jonggrang legend.
The temple officially caught the international attention in early 19th century. In 1811 during Britain�s short-lived rule of the Dutch East Indies, Colin Mackenzie, a surveyor in the service of Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, came upon the temples by chance. Although Sir Thomas subsequently commissioned a full survey of the ruins, they remained neglected for decades, with Dutch residents carting off sculptures as garden ornaments and native villagers using the foundation stones for construction material.
Half-hearted excavations by archaeologists in the 1880s merely facilitated looting. Reconstruction of the compound began in 1918, and proper restoration only in 1930. Efforts at restoration continue to this day. The reconstruction of the main Shiva temple was completed around 1953 and inaugurated by Sukarno. Since much of the original stonework has been stolen and reused at remote construction sites, restoration was hampered considerably. Shrines were only rebuilt if at least 75% of their original masonry was available. Most of the smaller shrines are therefore now only visible in their foundations, with no plans for their reconstruction existing.
Contemporary events
In the early 1990s the government removed the market that had sprung up near the temple and transformed the surrounding villages and rice paddies into an archaeological park. The park covers a large area, from Yogyakarta-Solo main road in the south, encompassing the whole Prambanan complex, the ruins of Lumbung and Bubrah temples, and as far as the Sewu temple compound in the north. In 1992 the Indonesian government created a State-owned Limited Liability Enterprise (PERSERO) of PT Taman Wisata Candi Borobudur,
