Aerial view of an unusually well-defined 'block' (pic right), possibly the base of a temple complex or stupa, at the possible site of the lost city of Kota Gelanggi.--Picture courtesy of RAIMY CHE-ROSS
Posted on 02/03/2005 12:31:50 AM PST by nickcarraway
PETALING JAYA: A 1,000-year-old lost city, possibly older than Angkor Wat in Cambodia and Borobudur in Indonesia, is believed to have been located in the dense jungles of Johor.
The discovery of what is thought to be the site of Kota Gelanggi or Perbendaharaan Permata (Treasury of Jewels) by an independent Malaysian researcher has prompted museum officials to plan an expedition to confirm the finding.
If indeed the site is that of the lost city , it is set to transform the historical landscape of the region, said Raimy Che-Ross, who spent 12 years researching Malay manuscripts all over the world and conducting aerial searches of the area before locating the site.
He said the discovery of “unusual formations” from the air had led him to believe that the site could be the first capital of the Sri Vijaya Malay empire dating back to 650AD.
“If the city is what we suspect it to be, then the Malacca Sultanate can no longer be considered as the start of modern Malay history.
“Once verified, the honour will go to Johor, as one thousand years ago Malacca had not even been established,” he said.
Raimy had tried to enter the site in early 2003 but failed, managing to get only as far as to the formations which are believed to be trenches and embankments of the outer city.
Department of Museum and Antiquities director-general Datuk Adi Taha said an archaeological expedition would be mounted this year to verify the location of the lost city, with Raimy’s assistance.
Funds for the expedition would be sought under the 9th Malaysia Plan.
Adi said he and the department were very enthusiastic about Raimy’s research findings and would work with him to verify the location of the lost city, which could be spread out over a few hundred square kilometres.
ping
BTTT
Images of a lost city hidden in the jungle remind me of The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling, and the lovely Disney movie.
Wonder if there's a curse on any archaeologist who dares disturb the sanctity of the lost city? Hmmm....
Leni
Very cool.
Jungles are amazing. I mean, we have forests in Vermont but nothing you could lose an entire city in (particularly not with the amount of deer hunters roaming through them every fall).
LQ
Interesting post! It is amazing how fast the forest (both Jungle and monsoonal forest can reclaim an area. I think there is a lot to be found all through Southeast Asia.
It looks like the remains of a WWII jungle airfield.
Unfortunately, they will never do any such thing (see Egypt).
Yup, I was thinking about other scenarios of historical revisionism too (see Afghanistan).
This would have been a very nice place to live during the Ice Age...people must have thrived, after the explosion of Toba 74,000 years ago which killed almost every human on earth. Estimates are that only 2,000 humans worldwide survived Toba.
Please FREEPMAIL me if you want on, off, or alter the "Gods, Graves, Glyphs" PING list --
Archaeology/Anthropology/Ancient Cultures/Artifacts/Antiquities, etc.
The GGG Digest -- Gods, Graves, Glyphs (alpha order)
YOu are so right, they are already creating rumours that it cannot be as great as the Melaka Sultantes. It is sad they have not identified the location but already started spreading rumours.
Malaysian who has gone through the secondary stage of schooling (did not miss history classes), already knows that islam was not the original religion of the malay peninsula. We do not carry the beliefs that our country was originally/heavily influenced by islam. Islam only came to Malaya around 1400 or so, when the last prince of the sri wijaya empire converted to islam. Contrary to what other nation believes, malaysian particularly the malays ( which are muslim) are the most excited people of this discovery, and of course the historian/researchers that has been searching/studying more than 10 years for all things that lead to these hinduism/buddhism ancients places were mostly malays (which again are muslim). The malaysian goverment was as eager as the researchers and the rest of malaysian people in anticipating the rewritten of the history of the ancient malay history/ies. Isn't this kewllll or what.....
Oh......and former non-islamic history never have and never will weakens our "supposed" claims..........we are more open-minded than that :).
To learn more of this discovery go to thestar.com.my or related links or search for "the lost city of kota gelanggi" in google :).
Thanks for reading.
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