SEAArch – The Southeast Asian Archaeology Newsblog

Readers in Canberra may be interested in the new exhibition at the National Gallery of Australia, Life, Death and Magic: 2000 Years of Southeast Asian Ancestral Art.

Indonesia Ancestral Art Exhibition in Australia
Tempo Interaktif, 18 August 2010
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Gold artefacts dating from the 8th and 9th centuries have been stolen from a museum in Yogyakarta in Java.

Thieves clean up gold collection
Jakarta Post, 14 August 2010
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Five brick tombs said to be Islamic and dating to the 15th century have been found in Kudus in Java.

Antique Tombs Found
Tempo Interaktif, 13 August 2010
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Readers in Singapore may be interested in this public lecture by Dr. Michael Flecker about the Belitung shipwreck, soon to be exhibited in Singapore and around the world!

Treasures from the Sea: An Arab Shipwreck in Indonesian waters
by Dr. Michael Flecker
Date: 21 August 2010
Time: 4.00pm
Venue: Imagination Room, National Library of Singapore
* Registration required. See here.

The Belitung Wreck, an Arab dhow dating all the way back to the first half of the 9th century, was found in the Indonesian waters. Curiously it carried a cargo almost exclusively Chinese. Dr Michael Flecker, who directed the archaeological excavation of this magnificent find, will discuss the excavation, the ceramic and non-ceramic cargo, dating, identifying the origin and likely route of the ship and the composition of the crew. What was this Arab vessel doing so far from home?

In an unfortunate turn of events, the crew of the Spirit of Majapahit, a replica of a ship on the walls of Borobudur have reportedly mutinied and refused to proceed further with their planned voyage from Indonesia to Japan and back. The crew cited overly dangerous sea conditions beyond the capabilities of the ship, the lack of insurance and late payments and are returning home from Manila.

Mutiny on the Majapahit: Crew Says Too Dangerous to Sail On
Jakarta Globe, 12 August 2010

Mutinous Crew on Spirit of  Majapahit Brings Historic Voyage to Abrupt End
Jakarta Globe, 13 August 2010
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The dating of Aboriginal Australian rock art depicting the contact between Makassan ships and indigenous Australians suggests that contact between the two communities existed at least a hundred years earlier than originally thought.

Australia’s rock art discovery – sailing vessels visit in mid-1600′s
Sail World.com, 25 July 2010

We have contact: rock art records early visitors
The Canberra Times, 24 July 2010
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The newest exhibition at the Asian Civilisations Museum in Singapore showcases the treasures from the Indonesian island of Sumatra, the first such international travelling exhibition to do so.

Sumatran artefacts on display
Straits Times, 28 July 2010
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