SIK: CERAMIC jar-like objects, believed to be linked to an ancient civilisation in the Bujang Valley, were found at a fruit orchard in Kampung Padang Chichar, Jeneri, here recently.
Universiti Sains Malaysia Centre for Global Archaeological Research director Prof Mokhtar Saidin said the objects could likely be part of an ancient furnace used for smelting iron, dating back to the first century.
He said this was based on his team’s initial findings from the photographs of the two objects, discovered by a farmer two weeks ago.
Mokhtar said the objects looked similar to the seven ancient furnaces discovered in Jeniang, about 17km away, in 2010.
“It is possible that the artefacts are the remnants of the oldest civilisation found in the Bujang Valley and Sungai Batu, as the site was once located only 50m from Sungai Muda, which was the main route for traders.
“We will study the artefacts and if they are part of a furnace from the first century, it proves that iron smelting was already carried out in early civilisation.”
Meanwhile, Kampung Padang Chichar is abuzz with talk that the area is somehow linked to the ancient civilisation in Bujang Valley, following the discovery.
The area was once a thriving settlement before it became a forest inhabited by wild elephants.
Nordin Ahmad, who discovered the artefacts, said he dug up the area two weeks ago and spotted a round object covered in red soil sticking out at a trail leading to the fruit orchard.
The 53-year-old farmer said he and his cousin stopped digging after finding the items 0.61m into the ground, fearing that they were World War 2 bombs.
However, Nordin could not contain his curiosity and decided to rope in 20 villagers to resume digging several days ago.
“We found two objects that looked like large ceramic jars, but none of us could tell what they were. According to the old folks here, this area was a jungle before it was opened 100 years ago,” he said at the site.
Excavation works have been ongoing since 2009 at a four sq km-site at an oil palm plantation in Jalan Lencongan Merbok, near here, following reports of an archaeological discovery in Sungai Batu in the Bujang Valley.
The discovery suggested that the civilisation dated back to 50 BC.
Mokhtar was quoted in a previous report as saying that as of the end of 2011, 29 of the 97 sites identified had been found to contain artefacts, indicating that an advanced culture once existed in the area.
He said the Sungai Batu site appeared to be the oldest civilisation in Southeast Asia based on the estimated timeline.