Malacca is known as an important ancient maritime entrepot for traders from the west and east. Its strategic location at the narrowest point in the Strait of Malacca allowed active trading activities for centuries from the Malacca Sultanate until the Dutch colonisation (Hussin, 2007; De Witt, 2018). For more than 200 years, Melaka served as a bustling maritime hub of all trading activities around its port of Kota Melaka as stated by Soma Oriental by Tomi Pires (Cortesau, 2015).
Modern-day, Melaka has been rapidly developed where there is a demand for coastal reclamation to the construction of commercial buildings especially in front of Melaka City. The reclamation land involved the ancient trading zones of Malacca Port. This area has also been the war ground between various parties such as the Portuguese, Dutch and Malacca Sultanate (Maxwell, 1911). Hence, it is not unanticipated if the coastal waters of Malacca contain artefacts that have not yet been discovered.
The accidental discovery of wood fragments in the reclaimed land of Pulau Melaka by independent researchers led by Dr. Dionysius Sharma on 24 Mac 2021 has offered a detailed study perspective regarding the important function of Malacca water in past maritime trade activities in the different periods. The wood fragments discovered from the archaeological site of Pulau Melaka are important to study the origin and age of historical contexts. Although it was discovered in a disturbed environment, it also allowed the Department of National Heritage Malaysia (JWN) and Melaka Museum Corporation (PERZIM) to record and document the important findings of that site.
The JWN as the authority government agency related to the preservation and conservation of cultural heritage encounters in Malaysia has taken immediate actions following the National Heritage Act 645 (2005) to close the perimeter of the archaeological site of Pulau Melaka. This site was listed in the National Heritage Register List for temporary protection action from any probable suspicious activities that might hunt for artefacts in this area.
This action is important because any discovery related to the shipwreck can provide the historical contexts of past maritime activities such as the origin of sinking ships, shipbuilding techniques, navigational routes and trading networks (Bee, 1999; Sahar, 2006; Zainudin & Chia, 2020; Baharim et al., 2023). Therefore, the excavation on the reclaimed land of the archaeological site of Pulau Melaka should be properly recorded and documented. This will we an important reference for any future discovery in the disturbed area in Malaysia and/or Southeast Asia region.
First Archaeological Discovery in Reclaimed Land in Malaysia
The discovery of the Pulau Melaka archaeological site is unique because it is the first discovery of the reclaimed land in Malaysia. The combination of local expertise consisting of different parties of a federal government agency (JWN), state of Malacca agency (PERZIM), Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT), and independent researchers is a positive progress towards the development of local capacity experts.
From an archaeological perspective, the discovery of this site is distinctive because it involves a hybrid archaeological technique compared to the common land archaeological sites. However, the integrity of this site is indefinite as reclamation works caused a significant change to its original environment. The excavation might contribute to the depreciation of the historical contexts of the studied site (Hewitt & Allen, 2010).
This situation posed various challenges to carrying out the fieldwork due to the possibility of mixture contexts which might influence the suitable surveying methods, effective excavation techniques, and post-excavation analysis. The main question arises as to whether the discovered wood fragments are from the excavation site or other locations.