World's Archaeologists To Gather In M'sia's Kedah State This Weekend To Discuss Old Kedah Civilisation

By Ismail Amsyar Mohd Said KUALA LUMPUR, May 19 (Bernama) -- World-recognised expert in the synthesis of DNA studies, Prof Dr Stephen Oppenheimer from Oxford University, will be among 29 prominent archaeologists who will gather in Sungai Petani, Kedah this weekend to discuss Old Kedah civilisation. Sungai Petani a town in the Kuala Muda district of the state of Kedah, in the northern part of Peninsular Malaysia. Dr Oppenheimer, who is also a geneticist and writer, will with his expertise in the synthesis of DNA studies with archaeological and other evidence to track ancient migrations, present his keynote address titled 'The Importance of Peninsular Malaysia During the Prehistoric and Civilisation Period', at the Old Kedah International Conference. Besides highlighting the Kedah Tua or Old Kedah civilisation and its significance in Southeast Asia, the conference will also discuss global archaeology. The conference which is being held in conjunction with the Old Kedah Festival 2016, will also touch on the importance of archaeology at the Bujang Valley, and draw comparisons between all major civilisations during the 6th century BCE to the 12th century. It is organised by Universiti Sains Malaysia's Centre for Global Archaeological Research (CGAR), Northern Corridor Implementation Authority (NCIA), National Heritage Department, Tourism and Culture Ministry, Kedah government and Malaysian Inbound Tourism Association (MITA) together with the Malaysian Institute of Architects (PAM), among others. CGAR director, Prof Dr Mokhtar Saidin said the conference would also highlight the role and contributions of Sungai Batu, near Sungai Petani, in the development of the world's major civilisations, namely Mesopotamian, Egyptian, Indus, Chinese, Mesoamerican and Greek Roman. Mokhtar himself will be presenting a number of working papers at the conference including on the Old Kedah government following the discovery of new evidence at the Sungai Batu archaeological site. He said the conference was being held for the first time after nine years of archaelogical research at the Sungai Batu site which proved the existence of a civilisation there from 535 BC. The confirmation was made by the Beta Analytic radiocarbhon dating laboratory in Miami, Florida, in November 2015 after analysis was done on the carbon from smelted iron found at the Sungai Batu site. Mokhtar said that 2,600 years ago, the community in Sungai Batu had started a civilisation, the oldest in Southeast Asia. "We know what their activities were as we have found iron furnaces, the harbour site, the site of the harbour master building and the structures for rituals," he said. On the Old Kedah Festival 2016 on Friday, Mokhtar said it would be more academic in form to expose the public to the Old Kedah civilisation, where they would be taken on a guided tour of the archaelogical complex in Sungai Batu. -- BERNAMA