Provider: Moravian Museum, Brno, Czech Republic

TY  - JOUR
JO  - Anthropologie (Brno)
TI  - FROM FOREIGN TRADE RECORD TO
ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE: ANALYSIS
OF IRON SMELTING SITE AT THE SUNGAI BATU
ARCHAEOLOGICAL COMPLEX (SBAC),
BUJANG VALLEY, KEDAH, MALAYSIA
AU  - Abd Halim MH
AU  - Saad MS
AU  - Yusof S
AU  - Muztaza NM
AU  - Mohd Mokhtar NA
AU  - Saidin M
Y1  - 2026
VL  - 64
IS  - 2
PB  - Moravian Museum, Brno, Czech Republic
SN  - 0323-1119
SP  - 0
EP  - 0
KW  - Sungai Batu Archaeological Complex – archaeological research – foreign documentation – archaeological
evidence
N2  - 
N2  - Tamil, Chinese, and Arab sources have documented the ancient Kedah Kingdom's trade records as a global
hub for exporting iron products. The records are the poems of Pattinapalai (Tamil), al-Kindi and al-Biruni, Abu Dulaf,
Aja'ib al-Hind (Arabic), and I-Tsing (Chinese). All of these records illustrate the importance of the ancient Kedah
Kingdom as a center for exporting iron products worldwide. To prove the record, archaeological studies were carried
out in the Sungai Batu Archaeological Complex (SBAC) area, covering the application of survey, mapping, excavation,
and analysis methods. The results revealed that a total of 17 iron smelting workshops were recorded, as well as the
existence of 11 river jetties, 17 port management areas, a complex of rituals, and Buddhist monuments in an area of
4 km², which strengthened records from Tamil, Arabic, and Chinese sources. Especially at the Iron Smelting Site, the archaeological excavations carried out have allowed for the first time its primary data to be revealed, which reinforces the record of the voyage.
ER  -