via The Star, 25 September 2023: The archaeological discoveries at Sungai Batu in Kedah, Malaysia. Led by archaeologist Professor Datuk Dr. Mokhtar Saidin, the research team has unearthed evidence of ancient iron smelting workshops, trading ports, and religious temples.
Today, tucked in the oil palm plantations in Sungai Batu, you can find physical evidence of “Kedah Tua”, the oldest civilisation in South-East Asia. Scientists and researchers have been working on the Sungai Batu Archaeological Complex since 2009, and they hope to continue for as long as they can.
We recently met with archaeologist Professor Datuk Dr Mokhtar Saidin, former director of the Global Archaeological Research Centre of Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), at the excavation site. Prof Mokhtar, 60, was the head of the project; he also led various other research projects like the Kampung Temelong prehistoric site in Lenggong (Perak) and the Tingkayu archaeological complex in Sabah.
According to him, over thousands of years ago, before the formation of the Kedah government system in the early 1000s, this part of Malaya was known as Kedah Tua. The area was brimming with iron smelting activities, and the team of researchers has found physical evidence of this.
