Page 145 - The Guide To Sarawak

THE GUIDE TO SARAWAK 143
museum.sarawak.gov.my.
SANTUBONG
The Santubong Peninsula, near Kuching, is one of the best researched areas. Six sites have been identified; Sungai Jaong, Bongkissam, Bukit Maras, Tanjong Kubor, Sungai Buah and Tanjong Tegok. They have yielded strong evidence to support Santubong’s role as an ancient trade centre, in contact with China, India, the Srivijaya Empire and their Majapahit successors. Most of the evidence found is porcelain and earthenware, as well as old ironworking sites. Several religious relics and remnants of temples
or shrines have also been discovered.
Santubong is easily accessible by car or public transport from Kuching.
The Batu Gambar at Sungai Jaong, about 3km before the village, is a half-sized engraving of a human figure spreadeagled on a rock. There are other engravings and designs on nearby boulders. Access is by foot, 800m from the road.
NIAH
The eight caves located within the Niah National Park are one of the cradles of human civilization in Asia. There is conclusive evidence of continual human habitation for the last 40,000 years; over 200 burial sites, large quantities of stone and bone tools, and extensive pottery finds,
The most famous of the engraved boulders at Sungai Jaong near Santubong is a half life-size, spread eagled human figure wearing a headdress, known locally as Batu Gambar (picture rock).
This stone platform at Bongkissam, Santubong, is an ancient Buddhist shrine from the 11th or 12th Century CE. It was excavated in 1966 by Tom Harrisson (Sarawak Museum) and Stanley J. O’Connor (Cornell University).