The construction of the temple stared in 775 and lasted until 842, under the dinasties of the Sanjaya and the Sailendra. In 856 the Sailindras were overthrown by Hindus and Borobudur was abandoned soon after its completion.

During the 10th century, the temple was less and less visited and has being progressively covered by volcanic eruptions and tropical growth.

In 1814 a British colonel discovered the monument. In 1855 Borobodur was cleared and a long process of restoration begun.

It took about 100 years to uncover the temple and bring it fully back to life. A committee was appointed in 1900 to preserve Borobudur. Thadeus Van Erp was named in 1907 and begun his work by escavating for 7 months the plateau around the foot of the monument. He did not dismantle the monument but tried to strengthen the collapsing walls and cover the the gallery pavment with concrete.Finally in 1973 an association of 27 countries ,the government of Indonesia, UNESCO as well as private organizations financed the major and most efficient restoration works. The project cost US$ 25 million. No other archeological rescue af such magnitude has been attempted since the raising of the Egyptian Temple of Abu Simbel in 1966 to protect it from the floodwaters of Aswan Dam.

It took 10 years to complete the jobFormer Indonesian President Suharto officially announced the completion of the restoration project in february of 1983 .