Those in need of reminding that all great empires come to an end can head for Batutulis, where sits the large black boulder on which King Purnawarman inscribed his name and footprint around AD 450. His rather immodest inscription, in the Palawa script of South India, is uncannily reminiscent of Percy Shelley’s Ozymandias , and reads: ‘This is the footstep of King Purnawarman of Tarumanegara kingdom, the great conqueror of the world’.
The Ciampea boulder has been raised from its original place and embedded in the shallow water of Sungai Ciaruteun. The inscription on the stone is still remarkably clear after more than 1500 years.
Minibuses make the run to Batutulis from the village of Ciampea, about 12km northwest of Bogor.
