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After archaeologists cleared vegetation at the top of Bukit Choras they discovered a Buddhist stupa [Courtesy of Nasha Rodziadi Khaw]
Malaysian Government is a strange creature when archaeologists make new findings on civilisation and religion
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MXREWVtiG8 (Ancient inscription, two statues discovered at Bukit Choras dig site in Kedah)
KUALA LUMPUR, March 11, 2024: The Malaysian Government is a very strange creature.
It cannot accept evidence or facts that reveal Malaysia’s history and civilisation, and it is rumoured that archaeological findings are being destroyed to hide whatever evidence.
In any other country, such findings would be a euphoria to the Government as they would potentially attract tourists and archaeologists from all over the world.
That means significant income for the country. But to the Malaysia’s so-called Madani Unity Government (UG), such findings appear to be “ must hidden” or “destroyed” as the evidence reveals Malaysia’s earliest civilisation or religion.
Al Jazeera, a prime international news network, has reported that archaeologists in northwest Malaysia had found new evidence of the region’s role as a thriving multicultural trading hub.
So, why is the UG not capitalising on the new findings and turn the site into a world tourist attraction? The silence is simply deafening!
No News Is Bad News reproduces below the Al Jazeera report:
Ancient find reveals new evidence of Malaysia’s multicultural past
Archaeologists in northwest Malaysia find new evidence of the region’s role as a thriving multicultural trading hub.
After archaeologists cleared vegetation at the top of Bukit Choras they discovered a Buddhist stupa [Courtesy of Nasha Rodziadi Khaw]
Published On 10 Mar 202410 Mar 2024
Kedah, Malaysia – Until six months ago, none of the inhabitants of the village of Bukit Choras, set amid rice fields near the steep and lush hill of the same name in northwestern Malaysia, had any idea they had been living next to an archaeological wonder all their lives.
It was only after a team of 11 researchers cleared the thick bushes and secondary jungle from the top of the hill, and gently scraped away at the soil that a missing piece of Southeast Asian history was revealed.
The 1,200-year-old Buddhist stupa of Bukit Choras was discovered last August in Malaysia’s Bujang Valley – a river basin scattered with several clusters of protohistoric sites in the country’s northwestern Kedah state.
The stupa is the best preserved in the country and experts say it could hold the key to Malaysia’s long history of multiculturalism.
“This site is an anomaly because it stands all by itself,” Nasha Rodziadi Khaw told Al Jazeera. Nasha is the chief researcher of the team from the University of Science Malaysia’s Global Archaeology Research Centre (CGAR) in the northwestern island of Penang, who supervised the excavation between August 28 and September 12 last year.
Bukit Choras is situated near the small town of Yan on Kedah’s southern coast about 370km north of the capital, Kuala Lumpur.
Nasha Rodziadi Khaw led the team of scientists who unearthed Bukit Choras’s stupa [Kit Yeng Chan/Al Jazeera]
Unlike the 184 archaeological sites previously identified in the Bujang Valley, which lie to the south, the stupa is isolated on the northern side of Mount Jerai, which was once a cape and a pivotal navigation point for seafaring traders who ventured to this part of the world from as far as the Arabian peninsula.
“We are still not sure of Bukit Choras’s function. It may have been a military garrison or coastal trade outpost, but we need to do further excavation [to assess]. Based on our preliminary findings, it shows plenty of similarities with other sites found in Java and Sumatra, Indonesia,” said Nasha, whose team will continue to work at the site throughout the first half of 2024.
A forlorn discovery
According to Nasha, Bukit Choras was first reported in 1850 by a British officer looking for treasures, and then, in 1937, briefly studied by another British scholar, HG Quaritch Wales. Wales undertook some minor excavations, but only reported finding a squarish Buddhist stupa, taking note of its measurements. He never provided any illustration or plate for the site.
Nearly 50 years later, in 1984, the then-director of the Bujang Valley Archaeological Museum returned to Bukit Choras to do some site cleaning and documentation, but the site remained largely undisturbed.
“I realised that nobody had done proper investigation [since then] and managed to get a fund to survey the site in 2017,” Nasha told Al Jazeera.
“We used electronic waves to do physical detection of what was hidden underground and found there were some big structures underneath.”
Nasha received more funding from Malaysia’s Ministry of Higher Education to conduct proper excavations in 2022, and his team was stunned to discover how well-preserved the site was compared with those unearthed in the Bujang Valley between the 1930s and 1950s – some of which had deteriorated because of erosion, human activities and even accidental destruction.
“At first we only excavated 40 percent of the whole Bukit Choras site, finding a stupa about nine metres long,” said Nasha. “But the most important discovery was two stucco statues of Buddha in good condition that have never been found in the area before.”
Stucco, Nasha explained, was thought to only be found in Java and Sumatra in neighbouring Indonesia, as well as in India, at the time.
Ancient ties
Placed in two niches together with an inscription in Pallava (the language of the Pallava Dynasty that ruled in South India between the 3rd and 8th century CE), Bukit Choras’s two Buddha statues have architectural features resembling those of other ancient artefacts from the Srivijaya kingdom that prospered between the 7th and 11th centuries CE, in an area from southern Thailand, through the Malay peninsula and into Java. The statues are now being studied and restored at CGAR on Penang island.
“The discovery of two still intact, human size statues and the inscription is very significant for further studies,” Mohd Azmi, the commissioner of Malaysia’s National Heritage Department, told Al Jazeera. “This shows that the site has not been disturbed and has the potential to give new evidence on Ancient Kedah’s history.”
Excavation trenches at the Sungai Batu Archaeological Complex [Kit Yeng Chan/Al Jazeera]
The discoveries in the Bujang Valley testify to an ancient civilisation that archaeologists refer to as the “Ancient Kedah Kingdom”. It prospered between the 2nd and the 14th century CE, stretching across the northwestern coast of the Malay peninsula and into Thailand predating the arrival of Islam in the region.
Ancient Kedah grew rich on international trade as well as the production of iron and glass beads, prospering as a multiethnic and multireligious ancient Southeast Asian polity where residents and foreign traders lived together.
Nasha points out that findings in the area suggest that for centuries, traders from China, India and even the Middle East came to the area to do business – and were often forced to spend long spells in Kedah when the harsh monsoon seasons made sailing back home impossible.
Temples and artefacts were built by local labourers mixing foreign architectural motifs and knowledge with two main influences.
“First is Buddhism, classified in areas such as Sungai Mas, Kuala Muda, and Sungai Batu in Semeling, plus the most recent being the temple site at Bukit Choras,” explained Asyaari Muhamad, a senior archaeologist and the director of the Institute of the Malay World & Civilisation at the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, referring to some of the Bujang Valley sites.
“The rest, such as the archaeological site in the Pengkalan Bujang complex [near the village of] Merbok, received Hindu influences. This classification is [based on] the discovery of artefacts and temple structures symbolising the religious beliefs or influences at that time,” he said.
Promoting multiculturalism
All of Ancient Kedah’s temples functioned as places of worship mostly for the mixed population of migrant traders and workers.
“In [the area of] Sungai Bujang, for example, most of the temples are clustered together near the main trading area and used to cater for the religious needs of the traders, while in Sungai Muda, they catered to the traders and workers of the local glass bead and pottery-making sites,” said Nasha.
Tuyeres, or air conduits, for the ancient iron smelting sites whose remains were found at Sungai Batu Archaeological Complex [Kit Yeng Chan/Al Jazeera]
“We believe it was the same in Sungai Batu, the main site for Ancient Kedah’s iron smelting furnaces, where we found evidence of a community and its temples. But in Bukit Choras, proof of economic activities or industry has not yet been found,” he said.
Archaeological discoveries suggest that while Ancient Kedah thrived for centuries, it went into decline when climate transformed the large maritime bay and accessible riverways leading to the iron smelting site of Sungai Batu into mangrove and tidal swamps that were impassable to ships.
“Multiculturalism is not new in the Malay peninsula and Ancient Kedah,” added Nasha. “It started with trade in the 2nd century, when there was an increase of connectivity between China, India and Southeast Asia, and continued well into the Melaka kingdom, which we know was also a multicultural society, and continues today.”
The Malaysia of the 21st century is also a multiethnic and multireligious Southeast Asian nation made up of a majority of Malay Muslims, followed by Chinese, Indians and more than 50 other ethnic groups living across the peninsula and the northern half of the island of Borneo in the states of Sarawak and Sabah.
Asyaari said it was important for researchers to collaborate and reach a better understanding of the origins of civilisations in and beyond the Malay peninsula.
“Any statements about new or previous findings need to be carefully examined so that […] a theory, discovery, and the results of a study do not become an issue and controversial in nature,” he said.
SOURCE: AL JAZEERA
Unearthing more clues about the Pallava dynasty
Saturday, 23 Sep 2023
Historic find: A structure believed to be the largest Buddhist temple in Bukit Choras. — Photo taken from the Department of National Heritage social media
ALOR SETAR: Two almost-perfect statues and an ancient inscription from the Pallava dynasty have been discovered during an archaeological excavation at the Bukit Choras Archaeological Site in Yan.
The discovery by the Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) Centre for Global Archaeological Research (CGAR) and the National Heritage Department (NHD) took place at the summit of Bukit Choras between Aug 28 and Sept 12.
USM CGAR senior lecturer Dr Nasha Rodziadi Khaw, who led the excavation, said the find from the temple site could date back to around the 8th or 9th century AD, which is the same as most of the temple sites in the Bujang Valley, and development period of the Srivijaya Empire.
“The uniqueness of this temple at this archaeological site is firstly, how it has been preserved and the condition of the walls in the north, west and south areas.
“Secondly, we found two human-sized structures made out of stucco... and the discovery of stucco has not been reported in the Bujang Valley but only in Sumatra and Java,” he said yesterday.
The Pallava dynasty, which flourished around the 6th to 8th century AD, introduced its writing to South-East Asia, resulting in many communities using modified versions of the script such as the Kawi used by the Balinese, Bugis, Javanese and Sundanese, Lanna, Tham and Khom of Thailand, the Pyu in Burma, the Khmer in Cambodia and the Cham in Vietnam.
The Bukit Choras Archaeological Site, which was designated a heritage site under the National Heritage Act 2005 in December 2016, has now brought to light previously hidden treasures.
Nasha said based on preliminary research, there is a similarity between the temple architecture in Bukit Choras and that of the temples in West Java and Sumatra, raising questions about the cultural relationship between Kedah Tua and other sites in South-East Asia.
‘The temple is estimated to measure nine square metres, but the actual size can only be confirmed after the excavation work is done, which is currently 40% complete.”
He said the Bukit Choras Archaeological Site is considered special due to its isolated position north of Gunung Jerai, whereas the other archaeological sites in Bujang Valley are mostly situated south of Gunung Jerai around Sungai Merbok and Sungai Muda.
“My team still needs time to do more on-site research, perhaps for several years, before any conclusion can be made about the ancient site.
“I hope we can provide more information and data that can add value to the history of Kedah Tua.
“This temple is also the biggest ever found in Bujang Valley and has an interesting architecture,” he added.
USM vice-chancellor Prof Datuk Dr Abdul Rahman Mohamed said the university would continue working with the NHD to carry out more excavation at archaeological sites to further expand archaeo-tourism products.
He said the research team has been conducting excavations at the archaeological sites in Bujang Valley for the last 10 years and has been doing it with funds from the Higher Education Ministry.
“We are working with the NHD and other relevant agencies on how to develop our archaeo-tourism and with this discovery, our history can be improved,” he said.
41 prehistoric remains to return home
By IMRAN HILMY
Saturday, 23 Sep 2023
GEORGE TOWN: It’s a homecoming after being away for about a century but their journey back to Malaysia will be a delicate adventure in itself.
The remains of 41 prehistoric people, discovered in Seberang Prai’s Guar Kepah archaeological site near the Kedah border between 1851 and 1934, would have to be handled with care all the way from the Netherlands where they have been “staying.”
“They are so fragile that any mishap can break them,” said Nurul Amira Md Isa, the curator of Chief Minister Incorporated (CMI), the project and landowner of the Guar Kepah site.
Guar Kepah is the first archaeological site recorded in Malaysia and is estimated to be between 5,000 and 6,000 years old.
It is considered unique in the country because it has shell middens, the prehistoric version of garbage dump sites.
Nurul Amira said the skeletons were ancient, so they face the risk of destruction by temperature, humidity, ultraviolet light and microbial life and certain gases.
An exhaustive list of procedures and testing was being done before the remains can be put on a plane in the Netherlands for their journey home, she said.
“First, we have to be certain that there will be minimal movement throughout the flight and transits,” she said in an interview.ecious cargo: Part of the remains that were excavated in Guar Kepah by British archaeologists between 1851 and 1934. — Photo courtesy of Yap Lee Ying/Buletin Mutiara
She said suitable boxes or carrying cases were being prepared to safeguard each fragment of the skeletons while complying with all international and national regulations during repatriation.
These remains were unearthed by British archaeologists during excavations in Guar Kepah starting from the 19th to early 20th century.
It is unclear why they were sent to Europe, but it is believed that it was done so for research purposes since there were no experts here then.
Eventually, the remains were sent to the National Natuurhistorisch Museum in Leiden, Holland for safekeeping.
Scientifically, the remains are priceless because they hold secrets of a humanity that existed here for centuries before any kingdom was recorded.
Forensic and medical studies of the bones, teeth and any remaining human tissue could yield insights into the development of mankind in Penang’s prehistory.
Over the years, the state government has been trying to get the remains back on home soil.
In March this year, a delegation led by then Penang Deputy Chief Minister II Dr P. Ramasamy went to the Netherlands to discuss the repatriation of the artefacts.
Once the skeletons are back on Malaysian soil, they would have to deal with the tropical humidity and temperature.
Nurul Amira said the Guar Kepah Archaeological Gallery, which was being built now, would have strict specifications.
Special storage and exhibition areas with 24/7 lighting, temperature and humidity controls are an absolute must.
A strict protocol of handling procedures must also be observed to protect them from chemicals and microorganisms – bacteria and fungus – that could destroy them.
“It is vital to make sure the skeletons are protected from every possible harm once they are returned to Penang,” she added.
CMI general manager Datin S. Barathi said efforts to bring back the 41 skeletons are under the purview of the governments of Malaysia and the Netherlands.
“The last meeting we had with the National Heritage Department was in early August.
“The department and Foreign Ministry are working on it and after Cabinet approval, they will inform the state government,” she said.
Barathi added that all the documentation process would be managed by the Foreign Ministry with their Dutch counterparts before the skeletons can be brought home.
The Guar Kepah Archaeological Gallery is expected to be ready by the first quarter of next year, she added.
“We hope the skeletons can be brought straight to the gallery,” she said, adding that they could put it on public display about three months after that.
CMI, which is responsible for getting funds to set up the Guar Kepah Archaeological Gallery, will manage the site and gallery when it is opened to the public eventually.
Once the skeletons are back on home soil, they would undergo further analysis for an insight into ancient lives.
“But whether some of the skeletons will be exhibited would depend on their suitability and condition,” said Barathi.
As for the 42nd skeletal remains found in Guar Kepah in April 2017, known as ‘Penang Woman’, Barathi said it was now in Universiti Sains Malaysia’s (USM) Global Archaeology Research Centre under the care of its director Prof Dr Stephen Chia Ming Soon and his team.
Barathi said they hope to place the Penang Woman at the Guar Kepah gallery provided the conditions were conducive.
Since Penang Woman was unearthed much more recently, Barathi said the remains were scientifically even more important, so if the skeleton was found to be too fragile, only a replica of it might be shown in Guar Kepah.
Incidentally, ‘Perak Man’ is the remains of the country’s oldest prehistoric man. It was unearthed by a team from USM at Gua Gunung Runtuh in Lenggong Valley in 1991.
Perak Man is South-East Asia’s most complete human skeleton that has ever been found.
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Malaysian Researchers Find 1,200-Year-Old Buddhist Temple Structure
23 September 2023, 01:28 | Editorial Team
Screenshot of the location of the latest archaeological discovery of the Buddhist temple structure is estimated to be 1,200 years old at the Bukit Charos Site, Yan, Kedah, Malaysia, Friday (22/9/2023). (ANTARA/Virna P Setyorini)
JAKARTA - Researcher at the Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) Global Archaeological Research Center (PPAG) and the Department of National Heritage (JWN) announced the discovery of the largest Buddhist temple structure in Bukit Choras, Yan, Kedah, which is believed to have existed since 1,200 years ago.
USM senior PPAG lecturer Nasha Rodziadi Khaw, who led archaeological excavation research, said in an early-stage study from August 28 to September 12, 2023, it had revealed half of the entire parent temple structure.
The excavation on September 8, 2023, according to him, succeeded in uncovering a much larger and complete temple structure by revealing half the northern and southern walls as well as the entire west wall of the temple.
As reported by ANTARA, Friday, September 22, researchers also found two statues on the south and west walls of the temple. Even though they were damaged, he said the statue could still be identified. The researchers also found inscriptions with Palawa letters and shards of clay pottery.
The proposed initial dating for the site was around the 8th or 9th century AD, which is one era with most of the other temple sites in the Bujang Valley and the development of the Sriwijaya period.
It is planned that the second phase of research will be carried out in December 2023, which includes excavation of half of the other main building structures. Meanwhile, the statues and artifacts that have been found will be taken to the USM PPAG laboratory to be cleaned, conserved and further researched.
The Bukit Charos site has been confirmed as a cultural heritage based on the National Heritage Act 2005 (Act 645) on December 28, 2016.
In USM's Facebook upload, it was stated that among the discoveries at the location there were two plastered statues (stuko) whose architecture was similar to ancient Sriwijaya Kingdom artifacts found in Sumatra and West Java, Indonesia.
The remains of the temple structure found are still well maintained and show unique carving and architectural characteristics, especially with the presence of graded buildings, as well as special spaces for laying statues.
The English, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, and French versions are automatically generated by the AI. So there may still be inaccuracies in translating, please always see Indonesian as our main language. (system supported by DigitalSiber.id)
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