Tambora culture

Tambora is a lost city and culture on Sumbawa Island buried by volcanic ash and pyroclastic flows from the massive 1815 eruption of Mount Tambora. The city had about 10,000 residents. Scientists unearthing the site have discovered ceramic pots, bronze bowls, glass bottles, and homes and inhabitants buried by ash in a manner similar to that of Pompeii. The language of the culture was wiped out. The language appears to have been an isolate, the last survivor of the pre-Austronesian languages of central Indonesia. The city was visited by western explorers shortly before its demise. It is believed to have traded with Indochina, as Tambora pottery resembles that found in Vietnam.