By Ling Hui
KUCHING, March 31: A total of 315 artefacts comprising Chinese and European ceramics, including porcelain and stoneware have been unearthed from the grounds around the vicinity of the Central Police Station compound as of today.
Minister of Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said among the uncovered artefacts, 15 of them are in pristine condition, being complete and unbroken.
“There were also European glassware in the form of bottles as well as metal objects such as old coins. Among them, the oldest piece so far may date back to the Qing Dynasty which was in existence from 1636 to 1912. These are all buried treasures of Sarawak,” he said.
Describing Kuching as “City with buried treasure, Abdul Karim said the Central Police Station is among the locations with many discovered artefacts, other than Brooke’s Dockyard.
Looking back in time, he said it was in January 2017 when the Central Police Station first yielded 286 artefacts, which was the largest such discovery at the site.
“Following that, every now and then, we read news reports with regards to more artefacts being found, and recently, it’s on an annual basis. In December 2020, there were some more discoveries.
“Then in June 2021, more artefacts were uncovered. Most recently, at the beginning of this month on March 3, some interesting objects of antiquity were again unearthed.
“Actually, prior to these discoveries, as early as the early 1900s, during Rajah Brooke’s time, some artefacts had been already unearthed when two wooden shophouses which were near the Central Police Station, were bulldozed to give way to modern development,” he said.
If these artefacts were one day to be displayed in museums, Abdul Karim said, it would be exciting news for the public because Sarawakians would recognise the origin of the artefacts as one of the places they are familiar with.
So, history is not something distant as it comes to all in the form of an object, through a site, or a building, traditions or cultures, he said.
“To know about history and heritage is to know about ourselves. It is part of our everyday life. It is actually part of us. We are the products of our history.
“Without history, our very own existence is questionable. History defines who we are. It defines Sarawak and Malaysia,” he said when witnessing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signing ceremony between DayakDaily and Friends of Sarawak Museum (FoSM) at Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK) here today.
The ceremony marks the collaboration between DayakDaily and FoSM where the latter will be contributing an article fortnightly for three years from April 1, 2022 to March 31, 2025 to DayakDaily in a column known as ‘Heritage Snippets from Sarawak’. — DayakDaily
