Lost city believed found in Johor (Malaysia)

The Star (Malaysia) ^ | TEOH TEIK HOONG and AUDREY EDWARDS

[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.

[Labratz]

Links on Lost City,


http://news.google.com.my/news?q=the+lost+city+of+kota+gelanggi&hl=en&lr=&sa=N&tab=nn&oi=newsr

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2005/2/6/nation/10105045&sec=nation

http://www.snni.org/cgi-bin/snni2/list_item.cgi?peserta/malaysia/st0205_1.txt

[An.American.Expatriate]

Thanks for the info.

I realize that not all (or even most!) Muslims think that Islam "always was" - but, especially in the ME / Africa, this is a prevailing theme - most lnotably in the press.

I congratulate you and your people on this discovery and hope that the knowledge obtained from the expedition will shed new light on an ancient culture.

[USF]

Terima kasih banyak Labratz.

I appreciate your input.

I lived over there myself as an expat and keep in touch with the news from those that go back out there as well as in the media.

I'm glad that you are one of the more "open minded" ones. Unfortunately on my visits out of KL to the east coast I often wondered into the PAS strongholds to try and understand the phenomenon of their success and how a "moderate" Islamic country like Malaysia managed to get sharia implemented in parts of its territory like Terengganu and Kelantan.

It was the unpleasant encounters I had with the PAS supporters I had in mind, as well as how they rationalize their arguments for sharia, and Islam in all aspects of their lives, when I made my references above, as well as the age old arguments in the middle east about "whose land it was originally" and all the repercussions that follow.

I'm also well aware that what some of the Bumiputra kids are being taught in schools in the east coast where they have heavily censored (in accordance with sharia) school text books, is radically different from the more developed, ethnically mixed, and dare I say "liberal" west coast where they get a more "enlightened" education.

It's great that you took the time to log into Freep to comment on this. It's good to have your perspective on this as a local, whether you're a Bumiputra or not.

I wish you guys all the best with this discovery and I look forward to keeping up with new developments there.

[nokiaman69]

next genaration of students will only know that There was malaysia.......bcos of our that what there is the books, when the fiding is done and with Internet..the whole will know the ancient history of the EAST ASIA ( HINDU/BUDDIST),
As usual...they won't admit.

[SunkenCiv]

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[SunkenCiv]

Mysterious city of black stone
The Star Online | 02/12/05 | AUDREY EDWARDS AND ZUHRIN AZAM AHMAD
Posted on 02/13/2005 11:19:20 PM EST by K4Harty
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1342609/posts

Archaeologist Says Johor “Lost City” Does Not Exist
Bernama | April 28, 2006 18:24 PM | “oh yes, we have no Bernamas”
Posted on 05/02/2006 1:55:07 AM EDT by SunkenCiv
http://freerepublic.com/focus/chat/1625108/posts

[SunkenCiv]