SEAArch - The Southeast Asian Archaeology Newsblog

02 June 2007 (The Brunei Times) - Another travel piece on Malaysia, this time East Malaysia in the Niah Caves of Sarawak. The Niah Caves are recognised as a World Heritage Site and is one of the oldest habitation sites in Southeast Asia, with evidence going as far back as 40,000 years ago. The Niah Caves also house some of the largest collections of rock art in Southeast Asia.

Caving in to the splendour of Niah

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Not only is Niah Cave one of the most significant archaeological locations in Southeast Asia, it’s also an important geological formation and home to important cave dwellers like swiftlets and bats. Archaeologists get excited at the mere mention of Niah Cave as human remains dating back some 40,000 before the present were discovered here in the massive limestone caves.

The on-site Archaeological Museum documents this very well and there are some original and constructed remains on display. The Great Cave was a burial site for at least 166 Homo sapiens. Archaeological digs were conducted here under the watchful eye of Tom Harrisson, the former ethnologist with Sarawak Museum. His research hut still stands at the mouth of the cave located 4km from the park entrance.

Further along the dark trail is the Painted Cave where the remains of paintings can be found stretching along 32m of rock wall but safely guarded by an iron fence. Perhaps World Heritage status would result in the injection of some money which could better protect these paintings so that visitors could get closer for a better view.

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Read more about visiting the Niah Caves in Sarawak
(Stories from the Brunei Times only appear for about 24 hours, so if it is no longer available, you may wish to email me)

Books about the caves at Niah, including the skeletal burials:
- Uncovering Southeast Asia’s Past: Selected Papers from the 10th International Conference of the European Association of Southeast Asian Archaeologists by E. A. Bacus, I. Glover and V. C. Pigott (Eds) has a paper entitled: Bones from ‘Hell’: Preliminary Results of New Work on the Harrisson Faunal Assemblage from the Deepest Part of Niah Cave, Sarawak
-Reconstructing human subsistence in the West Mouth (Niah Cave, Sarawak) burial series using stable isotopes of carbon by J. Krigbaum
-The archaeology of foraging and farming at Niah Cave, Sarawak by G. Barker
- Early History (The Encyclopedia of Malaysia) by Nik Hassan Shuhaimi Nik Abdul Rahman (Ed)

02 June 2007 (The Brunei Times) - Liz Price writes a travel piece on the Tasik Kenyir, or Kenyir Lake, the largest man-made lake in Southeast Asia and also home to a few archaeological cave sites.

Terengganu’s Kenyir Lake beckons for a spelunking adventure

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Before the creation of the lake, there were several caves accessible, some of archaeological importance. However, when the area was flooded, most of the caves were lost underwater. Prior to their disappearance, archaeologists had discovered Neolithic artifacts such as kitchen utensils, stone adzes and pottery sherds.

Even a Neolithic burial was found, with broken pottery laid at the foot of the deceased. The Neolithic or New Stone Age era occurred roughly 10,000 years ago. The cave was probably adjacent to two well-known routes used by the aborigines in prehistoric times through Terengganu to Sungai Tembling.

Now there are two remaining limestone hills containing caves that can only be reached by boat. Gua Bewah is the biggest of the known caves. From the floating jetty a steep flight of steps leads up to the entrance situated 40m above lake level.

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Read the full story about spelunking in Tasik Kenyir.
(Stories from the Brunei Times only appear for about 24 hours, so if it is no longer available, you may wish to email me)

Related Books about Malaysian cave sites:
- Early History (The Encyclopedia of Malaysia) by Nik Hassan Shuhaimi Nik Abdul Rahman (Ed)
- Prehistory of the Indo-Malaysian Archipelago by P. Bellwood

25 May 2007 (Antara) - UNESCO says that the Prambanan Temples of Java, damaged during the 2006 earthquake, will need at least another five years and some 6 million dollars for restoration.

Quake-hit Indonesian temples need years of repairs

Damage to one of Indonesia’s most spectacular temple complexes caused by last year’s devastating Java earthquake was so extensive that repairs will take at least five years, UNESCO says.

Some of the temples at Prambanan are threatening to topple and restoration of the entire Hindu compound, the largest in the country, will be slow and difficult, according to the UN culture agency.

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Repairs are expected to start later this year. Experts from UNESCO, the Indonesian government and other agencies have spent 12 months conducting extensive damage assessments, and devising an action plan.

Gurung said a big concern was the depth of cracks in the temples, which may have severely weakened their structure.

“When you look at the physical damage, falling stones, falling pinnacles, broken stones, we can place them back. But the serious part is the internal structural cracks, we don’t know how deep (they are),” she said.

“Some temples have inclined, they are tilting,” she added.

Read more about the restoration work on the Prambanan Temples.

Books on the Prambanan Temples include:
- Prambanan by Jhonny S.

24 May 2007 (news.com.au) - Soon, after your visit to Angkor, you will be able to fly directly to the ancient monuments of Bagan in Burma (Myanmar) thanks to a just-inked agreement between the governments of Cambodia and Myanmar. This agreement will pave the way for a larger influx of heritage tourists to visit the ancient cities of Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos (Luang Prabang is connected to Siem Reap by plane as well).

Cambodia, Myanmar agree to direct flights

CAMBODIA and Myanmar have agreed to direct flights between their main tourist destinations, Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Nam Hong said Wednesday.

The flights will connect Bagan and Mandalay, Myanmar’s top tourist stops, to Cambodia’s Angkor temple town Siem Reap, he said after returning from accompanying the Cambodian prime minister, Hun Sen, to the reclusive state.

“Cambodia and Myanmar agree to boost the tourism industry between the two nations and attract more international visitors,” he said.

“We have the same culture because we are both Buddhist, so we have to attract more tourists to both countries,” he added.

Impoverished Cambodia has built a booming tourist industry on the back of the 800 year-old Angkor temples, drawing some 1.7 million foreign visitors in 2006.

Read more about direct flights between Angkor and Bagan.

For more information about the ancient capitals of Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos, you might want to look up:
- Angkor Cities and Temples by C. Jaques
- The Treasures of Angkor: Cultural Travel Guide (Rizzoli Art Guide) by M. Albanese
- Angkor: Cambodia’s Wondrous Khmer Temples, Fifth Edition by D. Rooney and P. Danford
- Ancient Pagan by D. Stadtner
- Bagan by B. Broman
- Ancient Luang Prabang by D. Heywood

17 May 2007 (The Epoch Times) - A travel piece on the My Son Sanctuary in central Vietnam, once the spiritual centre of the Champa kingdom.

Vietnam’s Ancient Son

In a lush green valley in central Vietnam under the imposing glare of Cat’s Tooth Mountain rests one of the most important archaeological sites of the ancient kingdom of Champa.

It is unassuming, resilient and rich in history and beauty. One could well be describing Vietnam itself. In truth, the crumbling temples of My Son are just a speck on Vietnam’s kaleidoscope of indulgent cultural experiences.

But to walk through the secluded sanctuary of My Son, where the ancient monuments still stand proudly among the suffocating tropical growth, clear running streams and thick scent of surrounding coffee plantations, is a true test of the sensory overload that must be endured by all visitors to Vietnam.

My Son may not be one of the country’s most well-known attractions, but it can be one of its most rewarding. It is highly atmospheric, dramatic and dripping, not only in tropical humidity, but also the ancient spirit and architecture of Indian Hinduism blended into a typical South-East Asian terrain.

Read the full story here.

Related Books:
- Southeast Asia: From Prehistory to History by P. S. Bellwood and I. Glover (Eds) has a chapter on the Champa polity
- The Art of Champa by J. Hubert
- Hindu-Buddhist Art Of Vietnam: Treasures From Champa by E. Guillon

It’s not much by way of archaeology news, but this visual treat by William is five posts long but worth a visit for anyone interested in taking a virtual tour of Siem Reap and the Angkor Archaeological Park. Plenty of pictures of life and culture in Siem Reap, as well as good photographs of the monuments of Angkor.

Photo taken from a yellow POST IT note

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5

Related Books:
- Angkor Cities and Temples by C. Jaques
- The Treasures of Angkor: Cultural Travel Guide (Rizzoli Art Guide) by M. Albanese
- Angkor: Cambodia’s Wondrous Khmer Temples, Fifth Edition by D. Rooney and P. Danford
- Angkor: A Tour of the Monuments by T. Zephir and L. Invernizzi
- The Civilization of Angkor by C. Higham

19 April 2007 (New Straits Times) - The state government of Malacca intends to rebuild the ‘historic’ Malacca, that of the 15th century which is regarded as the golden age of Malacca Sultanate with plans for two replica-ships-cum-museums, a marina and a windmill. The Malacca Sultanate is considered the ’start’ of the Malay civilisation and was later in history occupied by the Portuguese and the Dutch.

Malacca ‘returns’ to the 15th century

Fifteenth-century Malacca was a busy marketplace, with trading ships from around the world sailing up and down its river. Inspired by the past, the state government aims to replicate the busy surroundings of the river in the Malacca Sultanate era.

By April next year, tourists will be able to get a feel of this historic city’s heyday.

“We are going to build more replicas of ships which will serve as museums along Sungai Melaka,” said Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam.

Speaking after a state exco meeting at Seri Negeri yesterday, Mohd Ali said he already had two ships in mind.

The first is Kapal Dendang Berahi, the ship in which Sultan Mansur Shah sailed to Majapahit to wed its princess, while the second, to be named Kapal Laksamana Cheng Ho, is a replica of the vessel used by the famous admiral.

Related Books:
- The Malay Sultanates 1400-1700 (The Encyclopedia of Malaysia)