Have Sumatran fishing crews found the fabled Island of Gold?

The Guardian uK ^ | 22 October 2021 | Dalya Alberge

[blueplum]

It was a fabled kingdom known in ancient times as the Island of Gold, a civilisation with untold wealth that explorers tried in vain to find long after its unexplained disappearance from history around the 14th century. The site of Srivijaya may finally have been found – by local fishing crews carrying out night-time dives on the Musi River near Palembang on the Indonesian island of Sumatra.

Their extraordinary catches are treasures ranging from a lifesize eighth-century Buddhist statue studded with precious gems – worth millions of pounds – to jewels worthy of kings....

[Kevmo]

sounds familiar, but a ping nonetheless

[BuffaloJack]

Calling Indiana Jones.

[bgill]

Thought putting my lifesize eighth-century Buddhist statue studded with precious gems there would keep it safe.

[cuz1961]

bet those

islamikazis

( never seen that one before. It’s a keeper /-)
\

don’t blow up a jewel encrusted, golden Buddha.
\

They would probably want to, but once their greed kicks in

they will remove the gems and smelt it down for sure though.

Imo.

[Who is John Galt?]

Thought putting my lifesize eighth-century Buddhist statue studded with precious gems there would keep it safe.

That's been my experience, too - you think you found the perfect place to stash your life savings, and then somebody builds a brand new QuickeeMart, right on top of it...

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks Kevmo. I had that same impression, some lost city that has in recent years been said to never have existed, same part of the world. I'll keep looking.

Reprise (link adjusted to the older posting):

• Chronology of Asian maritime history -- A gold medallion of Marcus Aurelius' predecessor Antoninus Pius dated 152 CE has been unearthed at Oc Eo, the main port of Funan in southern Vietnam, which flourished between the 1st and 6th centuries - especially after strife disrupted caravans across central Asia in the C2nd-3rd. The alternative land-sea route involved maritime sections from the Middle East to northwest India, across the Bay of Bengal to the Isthmus of Kra, across the Gulf of Thailand to Funan, and from Funan to China. Other C2nd-3rd finds at Oc Eo include Roman coins, Indian seals, and jewellery. At around the same time, a commercial centre developed at Ko-ying in the Sunda Straits; Malay seamen brought spices and forest products to Funan. [David Chandler, "A history of Cambodia", p.14, & Kenneth Hall, "Maritime trade and state development in early Southeast Asia", p.59, both citing Louis Malleret, "L'arch&eacuteologie du delta de Mekong", 4.vols (Paris 1959-63) - vol 3, "La culture du Fou-nan", 1962; Kenneth Hall, "Maritime trade and state development in early Southeast Asia", p.20-21, citing O.W. Wolters, "Early Indonesian Commerce: a study of the origins of Sri Vijaya", Ithaca, 1967. Funan and Ko-ying are the Chinese names.

and:

• Historical Fiction: China’s South China Sea Claims [posted 6/27/2014] -- China laying claim to the Mongol and Manchu empires’ colonial possessions would be equivalent to India laying claim to Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Burma, Malaysia (Srivijaya), Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka on the grounds that they were all parts of either the Maurya, Chola, or the Moghul and the British Indian empires.

[SunkenCiv]

Aha!

• Lost city believed found in Johor (Malaysia)
• Mysterious city of black stone
• Archaeologist Says Johor "Lost City" Does Not Exist

[Openurmind]

For your interest in particular... I joined the Wreckwatch rag site. And while this edition is full of propaganda glorifying China and it’s future of Communism. It is an incredible wealth of historical knowledge with super cool finds and images. There is one article about the cool history of Christian, Muslim, and Hindu influences in China from when the multicultural hybridism silk road trade was the thing. For anyone who takes great interest in this kind of history it is still well worth the effort to filter out the propaganda and it is free.

https://www.wreckwatchmag.com/

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks ORM.

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KEYWORDS: nestorians; silk; silkroad; silkroute; silktrade

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[SunkenCiv]

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[blam]

I've been throught the Straits of Malacca a few times...lots of pirates there, even today.

Until about 7,000 years ago, the ocean levels were so low (ice from the Ice Age was still melting) that water craft/ships could not pass through there. Once the passage was open, The Wise Men From The East were able to travel through.

Sundaland

And, nearby:

Taman Negara: The 130-Million-Year-Old Rainforest

Remember that the Himalayas are only 55 million years old.

[SuperLuminal]

Dang!
I knew I should have moved all that stuff to a safer hiding place...

IAC, it’s good that I never let my weapons fall out of my boat into the water... Handy & dry for that coming day...

[redinIllinois]

Wow!!

Thanks for posting

[blueplum]

thanks for the map, Blam!

what also drew my eye to the article was the existence of another people living on the water’s surface.
“ Srivijaya was a “waterworld”, its people living on the river like modern boat people”

From modern Iraqis:
https://www.messynessychic.com/2014/11/12/the-floating-basket-homes-of-iraq-a-paradise-almost-lost-to-saddam/
and Vietnamese:
https://www.amusingplanet.com/2012/02/floating-villages-near-cat-ba-island.html
To the pre-Incans of Lake Titicaca who terraced and farmed the islands and lived on reed islands
https://www.goworldtravel.com/uros-floating-islands-lake-titicaca/
to the reed islands of Sirvijaya:
“The 13th century Chinese account confirmed this; in his Zhu Fan Zhi, Zhao Rukuo mentioned, “The residents of Sanfo-tsi (Srivijaya) live scattered outside the city on the water, within rafts lined with reeds.”

Living ‘on’ floating islands seems to have been a common historical practice. Possibly to conserve land for farming like may have occurred at Lake Titicaca? Protection from land animals? Protection from roving hostile tribes on land? First line of defense of a land-based administrative center against attack from the water? Or was it a form of social stratification - king and court get to live on land, and peasants on the water?