Civilisation Dating Back 300 A.D. Found

Sungai Petani - Malaysian archaeologists have discovered at least 30 ancient mounds, comprising structures like houses, clay brick walls and a metal workshop dating back some 1,700 years, within a three-sq-km area in Merbok, Kedah.

The discoveries, made within the last year, point to new evidence that the Bujang Valley civilisation in peninsular Malaysia existed long before neighbouring empires such as Majapahit (1200 AD) and Sri Vijaya (700 AD).

An extensive research is being done by the Centre for Global Archaeological Research (CGAR) of Universiti Sains Malaysia to determine how advanced the little-known civilisation, known variously in historic annals as Kataha and Kidaram, was.

Remnants of the ancient society, including temples, tablets and drainage channels, have been found across more than 300 sq km around Gunung Jerai mountain - the highest peak in north Malaysia - since the British colonial period.

However, the latest discoveries shed greater light by scientifically confirming the date of the civilisation, CGAR director Assoc Prof Dr Mokhtar Saidin said today.

At the heart of the new discoveries is a metal-smelting workshop replete with a network of furnace nozzles, recently unearthed in an oil palm plantation in Sungai Batu.

"This is the first time that an advanced metal industry from such a period has been confirmed to have existed in this region," he said.

"We are gradually uncovering the remaining mounds. It is a very slow and painstaking process, but is revealing a lot of new information."

It is understood that the system of metallurgy found in the site is similar to techniques used in ancient India.

Also unearthed during the excavations were numerous artefacts like ceramics, pots, bracelets and beads.

Mokhtar said samples from the site, which were sent to the Beta Analytic Inc laboratory in Florida for radiocarbon examination, showed that they have existed since 300 AD.

Mokhtar said this during a visit to one of the excavation sites in Sungai Batu near here. Also present was USM vice-chancellor Tan Sri Prof Dzulkifli Abd Razak.

He stressed that the previous excavations in Merbok, closer to Gunung Jerai, uncovered structures that were principally religious in nature. A museum housing some of the artefacts is now located there.

However, the recent findings give new insight into the actual lifestyles and activities of the people of that period.

Mokhtar did not discount the fact that the port settlement could have had trading and cultural ties with empires such as Funan and Champa in the Indo-Chinese region.

It is also likely to have been part of the Langkasuka Empire which dominated much of the Malay peninsula, and whose traces have also been found in Patani, South Thailand.

Mokhtar added that the CGAR is drafting a plan to develop the area as a heritage park with guided archaeological trails for visitors.

The current research is being conducted with a RM2.3 million grant from the Unity, Culture, Arts and Heritage Ministry.

Source: TheSunDaily.com
Photo Credit: TehranTimes.com

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