I agree with the archeologist,Dr Mokhtar..but people around the world just commercialised Borobodur,Machu Picchu but not Kedah..so Jetlag Warriors is the first explorer..Keep it Up,Steve!
Kedah have oldest civilization in this region, but the archeology site get less attention compare to Borobudur and Angkor Wat. Few years ago, when I went to Lembah Bujang museum, I am the only visitor there.
It is because Angkor Wat and Candi Borobudur still exist as massive complex for tourist to visit. Sadly in Sg Batu it is just left remnants of a civilization
@@docredzal and also because of the UNESCO site. As for Lembah Bujang, they planned to register with UNESCO but until now still now news regarding this. The UNESCO can help with the funding, and might even help rebuilt the complex and dig in the sinking ancient ships.
@@shzltx1821 It is the Malaysians that should treasure and support financially (i.e. Gomen)for Prof and his team's archeology team to preserve and further dig for this ancient site. But i guess political will is not strong in this matter
You are so lucky...meeting the man whom lead the team that made all the findings...and you able to touch all those things which even locals won't have that oppurtunity...all information direct from the researcher, and he is one of the top researcher in Malaysia.
There's also ancient ships buried in the nearby river since the place used to be a trading point. There's 10 of it if I'm not mistaken. But the archeologist haven't been able to bring those ships out yet because it is kinda costly.
@@goodputin4324just because kedah is not white or egyptian or greek or chinese or whatever does not mean it can't be the oldest or one of the oldest kingdom/civilisation in the world
@@goodputin4324 , Carbon date shows this civilization at least 788BC. At one place they found more than 2 millions tuyure which produced around 5 hundreds BC. With that amount of tuyure, at that time Sungai Batu can be considered as one of the biggest iron smelting industry if not the biggest ones. And to reach that level, I believe its required hundreds or thousands of years of evolving technology. FYI, the geometry of tuyure are very consistent, which clearly shows the mass production process of this part. For me, Sungai Batu is a very amazing ancient civilization, a very different as compared with others. The real ancient heavy industry.
Yes, but because this site are more ancient than those sites, what one can see is only crumbling remnants. Brobodur and Angkor Watt structure still standing until today.
I doubt it. While more visitors could be good, but this site can't handle too many visitors. Angkor Wat and Borobudur are megaliths, huge monuments that are a pain to break even with a wrecking ball. If this site has even half of the visitor count of either of those monuments, that site would break. And you know how kids are, they make accidents. There's even a kid from China who doodled his name on a pyramid.
@@cristabeleactually Malaysian government does't care about our history. Prof actually won't revealed that he got pressured both from inside and outside Malaysia not to continue excavation. Prof did said to fellow historian, there's another 34 sites that need to be excavate but our government refused to let him. His team also found 5 of ships belong to pheonician from 7th century and they need 20M USD just to pull it out and preserves it This site got budget from government at the time prime minister of Tun Abdullah bin badawi era. The rest of prime minister doesn't care because they got pressured from outsiders. Another thing that he didn't said in this video is at that time, Kedah tua kingdom collecting iron ore around the world from Madagascar to Philippines just to produced this highest grade of ingot
For the info, there are two doctor heroes in Malaysia who work tirelessly in every moment and time. Dr. Mokhtar Saidin (Archeologist) and Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah (Dir. Gen. of Health). They are both our national heroes. Irreplaceable. May God protect them both with good health.
The history actually well known for those read and match all kingdom which related from India, China and all the empire between. There is old kingdom Gangga in Beruas invaded and destroyed by indian king in way to China. All the related artifacts already collected and can be visited in Beruas Muzium. We should aware that indian empire and china empire had closed relation with south east asia area for the supply of mineral, food, just as in modern days...
Hanya klaim saje takde pon bukti...ditempat saya banyak dijumpai seperti kedeh tuhe...hanya berupa batu bata merah seperti tempat ritual tamil atau Bangla...mungkin lebih tuhe dari kedeh tuhe..tapi kami tidak jadikan tamakdun karena bukti tak kuat...kalau Malassie bekas batu bata merah ritual tamil langsung diiktirafkan jadi tamakdun Melayu ... sungguh malang ...
# correction.. only 3⭐maybe, when he mentioned the Arab world civilization at century B. C. Saudi Arabia wasn't even in existence, but the area was part of the Arabian peninsula then, Arab civilizations would be in countries now called Yemen, Syria & Iraq.(historical fact)
Sadly, many people, let alone Malaysians remain unaware as the history behind it has been omitted from textbooks, leaving gaps in knowledge. It's crucial to shed light on these untold narratives and bring attention to the forgotten chapters of our past. It is important to distinguish between religion and history. History provides us with a valuable understanding of our roots, while religion holds its own significance in the realm of beliefs and spirituality. By separating the two, we can gain a clearer perspective on our collective past and foster a more inclusive and comprehensive understanding of our heritage. Kudos to all those historians working relentlessly behind the scenes.
Prof actually said in another video, our government refused to out more budget for another 34 sites because there's pressure from inside and outside Malaysia to prevent that from happening
I'm a fan of history of Malaysia - ancient and modern... great respect to Prof Mokhtar for his enormous effort to highlight us on this amazing history. Great job guys... appreciate your video and also happy to see how you enjoy Malaysia ancient history.
I have passed by this location many times before, as it is just beside the main road, but have not even stop to visit this place.......maybe the next time I will stop and visit it. This is really a historical site that should not be miss by all Malaysian.
Thanks to you.. ❤️ even a Malay guy like me don't know about this and I was just know that Malacca empire was our start. Finally I know that Malay is one of the oldest people in the world.
Fun fact. Kedah soil mostly is like clay. Very good for bricks and pottery. My late dad was from MADA an agricultural branch of the gov. That helps farmers for paddy/rice planting. He was a surveyor.
As an avid traveller & into old relics and old heritage stuff..... but yet this is under the radar......Thanks again for creating the awareness of this place.....Stay safe , happy exploring....
Thank you Jetlag Warriors. I gain knowledge substantially in this less than 15 mins video, more information than what I had for the past 10 years about Sg. Batu early civilization.
Ask Prof Mokthar for other archaeological sites in Kedah, since you love history Steve. Kedah's history is wayyyyy older than Malacca's..... There are prob lots and lots of buried ancient cities yet to be discovered.
And the Jerai mountain was actually an island name Serai Island before it become one with mainland. Around the mountain I believe has many historical artifacts scattered if the authorities do make effort to search more
The iron-smelting tools found there dated back as old as 530 B.C. There are thousands of tuyeres found there. That means this place and its surrounding area was a large ancient metal industrial area. At 530 B.C, Hinduism and Buddhism weren't even born yet or at least have not yet reached the shores of Kedah. "Kedah" by name and by location is an ancient name that exists almost in every ancient records of China's, Arabs, Persians, Romans and Indian travellers. It predates Angkor Watt and Borobudur. To say that it has Hindu or Buddhism influence are not quite correct because Kedah was a port of call (it received ancient seafarers from around the world, with different cultures) and as you can see, there were no ancient Hindu or Buddhist temples there erected in Kedah or even in Malaysia until just recently. Whatever ancient religion found here in Malaysia, it was obviously observing monotheism. Ancient Malaysia is a land of mysteries, myths, magics and spirits who refuse to be discovered :D
@@hyuuganatsume2621 Yes. I think it went by different names to different cultures, depending who recorded it. Ka-taha, Ka-cha, Kadaram also langkasuka, zabag, langyashu, khalingga, khaling and they all pointed to the same location which is Kedah. I have this hunch that the Great Kalinga Wars was actually fought between Ashoka (Maurya Empire) vs Kedah (Khalingga Empire) and not between Ashoka and Odessa (present-day India). That metal-processing site shows that there was once a big infantry and naval forces in that area controlling the trade routes to / from China. It can't be Odessa.
Wow. this video was recommended by youtube and you know what, I've been there 4 years ago during my study years as part of my extracurricular activities with Unesco club. what a coincidence! You guys should go visit the Lembah Bujang museum as well because there are many old temple remnants located there.
Semenanjung Malaysia itu dulu dikenali sebagai semenanjung emas. Juga terkenal sebagai survanabhumi (sewaktu zaman hindu-budha di semenanjung). "Survanabhumi" - Perkataan Sanskrit yang membawa maksud "semenanjung emas". Tapi sayang nama survanabhumi itu diabadikan kepada lapangan terbang Thailand. Sedang Malaysia sendiri tidak mahu menggunapakai perkataan itu, padahal sejarah memperakuinya. Di Malaysia, survanabhumi itu dah seolah bukan semenanjung, tapi Thailand memperakuinya meliputi kawasan dari sempadan Malaysia, segenting kra hingga Teluk Siam. Banyak lagi yang Malaysia tidak mahu guna sedangkan itu sejarah Malaysia. Contohnya hotel Hang Tuah, ada di Indonesia sedangkan di Malaysia tiada nama hotel hang Tuah. Juga lapangan terbang Hang Nadim, ada di Indonesia, yaitu di kepulauan Riau. Malaysia juga boleh guna nama-nama ini kerana kita berkongsi sejarah yang sama. Ini bukan bermaksud klaim tetapi zaman dahulu belum punya batas sempadan negara yang sesungguhnya. Sejarah itu milik bersama. Ingat, Sultan Mahmud tidak akan lari ke Bentan jika dia tahu "bahawa itu Indonesia". Ini bukan soal negara tapi zaman dahulu nusantara ini adalah wilayah berdasarkan kekuasaan sultan, bukannya negara seperti sekarang. Justeru, nama Sultan Mahmud boleh dikongsi oleh kedua-dua negara untuk dinamakan di bangunan masing-masing. Kedua-dua negara adalah benar dalam hal ini. Satu pujian untuk Indonesia, yang cepat2 mengisytiharkan makam Tuanku Tambusai sebagai pahlawan nasional Indonesia, yang terletak di Rasah, Seremban. Padahal negara Indonesia belum wujud pada era zamannya. Jelas, Indonesia tidak mahu sejarah nya hilang setelah Malaysia menjadi sebuah negara yang lain. Yaitu jejak sejarah milik Indonesia masih boleh didapati di Malaysia. Malaysia dalam soal Sultan Mahmud? Apakah Malaysia menyatakan makam Sultan Mahmud itu milik Malaysia (sejarahnya)?. Di sini jelas terlihat bahawa jejak sejarah itu tidak dilanjutkan oleh pihak Malaysia manakala Melayu Riau juga boleh berbangga dengan Sultan Mahmud kerana sultan itu juga adalah Sultan rakyat Melayu Riau pada zaman dahulunya.
Amazing history knowledge but apparently not many even locals know about it much. The government should make more effort in making these known to people just like the Angkor Wat and boost the tourism industry in near future
Actually Steve only went to site A, theres alot more site around the road. some of the site can be trace back till 3000 years ago which is very near to Ancient Egypt civilization. Animisme were the original belief of ancient Malays during at the time. then Buddhist and Hinduism were introduced and most(royalty) adopted Indian influenced, this begin until Islam was spread through South East Asia. btw, Prof Mokhtar is the very first person discovered Sungai Batu. very lucky you guys meet him.
Truth, honesty and academic integrity must prevail in archaeological research and history. It is only wise to acknowledge and honour our past. The world knows where the oldest language and oldest religion originated from. 🙏💕🙏
When you guys were bout to come Kedah. I already have a thought that this place will be one of them you will come and visit. Even if it not, i want you to come here. I stil dont have time to visit this place but i am planning to one day insyallah(with God’s permission).
Had visited the place few times, not far from my place. Very excited when learning it was my former archaeology lecturer heading the project. A great person indeed. This site is located at both sides of the main road, can you imagine the treasure underneath the road itself?
Really loved this mind blowing historical vlog...explanation by you, Steve and Professor Dr Mokhtar were excellent. Thanks for this amazing video. You both are doing great !!
Woo! Glad you enjoyed it! This video felt sort of hard to make -- there was so much incredible information coming our way, I wasn't sure I could express it in an organized manner. I had such a good time there, I really wanted to make the video do justice!
So happy you both got to come here. When I was writing for a newspaper I came here to interview Prof Mokhtar in 2016 and even helped to do some excavation work. I agree with you...for Sg Batu to have unearthed (pun intended) some interesting historical facts makes it such a cool and awesome archeotourism destination. A must visit indeed!
Great episode guys , thanks to Professor Mokhtar for the information I really enjoyed watching this historical site , would love to go there one day 👍🏻
Awesome informative video!! Watched it twice, trying to absorb all the information you shared. Well done!!! Keep doing what you're doing!!! Keep safe and healthy.
Thanks Steve & Ivana for this video. Prof. Datuk Dr Mokhtar is one of my lecturers during studying Geophysics at University Science of Malaysia. It is an honour to be one of his students. Thanks Prof! I miss your archaeology classes 😁💞
Thank you very much Ivana & Kevin for visiting Sungai Batu Archeological Site. It meant really much to us. May you spread the words to others tourists who love history of Malaysia & SEA.
I especially appreciate how you mentioned the presence Buddhism and Hinduism in ancient times. Many books glaze over this fact. It was around that time when Hinduism was widespread in Indonesia as well. That's why a majority of people in Bali practice Hinduism today
i wouldn't say it's not mentioned. it's contested n controversial for ultra nationalists true. but definitely it's well reported. it's there in school textbooks. not to mention university courses. peer reviewed academic journal articles on this are authored by malaysians , malays n nonmalays alike. n its there in the national museum if u want to see it yourself :)
@zhu hunk I thought the whole of us are already aware that the locals practised animism, Buddhist and Hindus during ancient times? We learnt in our school’s history subject that Langkasuka, Chih Tu, Kedah Tua, Srivijaya, Majapahit were all during the pre-Islamic era. Even the Malaysia National Museum organised the pre-Islamic exhibition early this year. The ancient history are interesting tho
@@AbdulKareemAbdulRahman Not to sure if you do learn history well in school, but during my years, we do learn that animism, hinduism and buddhism does have influence over peninsular and nusantara region before the coming of islam..and just like someone here mention, this site is older than the starting of hinduism and buddhism.
If only schools during my time taught more on local and South East Asian history instead it was mainly concentrated on European history (bronze/iron age,and early 1900's)
Old Kedah imported iron as far as Arab, that time the Malay people already mastered the sea...this region have so many merchant ships even bigger than the Portuguese's...even Chinese kingdoms adapt the ship design...Jong or Junks originated from here
Hi Steve, Gunung Jerai also do have interesting story. I heard about story an ancient ship with pots of gold exist somewhere near there. Perhaps you can ask Dr. for more accurate info.
I love the fact Steve is such a historian! The video is so interesting. The Kedah trip has been hectic hope you and Ivana takes some time off to chill.
Glad you guys made it there and gave some coverage to the site. I think they are in the process of excavating a few sunken ships from that area but the constant flood and funding issues kind of slowing things down
Amazing right? Maybe not as grand as Angkor Wat, but older and rich with history! Really an incredible memory for all of us. SO grateful that Mohktar Saidin was able to show us around! Amazing.
kedah or kataha or kadaram had a strong relationship with the port city of pulikat( pelikat or palaikat) that produced one of the world's best textiles. the traders from pulikat continued their textile trade with malaysia until the 20th century. a Portuguese with the name of Castanheda who lived in malacca from 1528 until 1538 gave a detail explanation of the type of textiles imported from pulikat.
the truth is...there's more to explore about malaysian history...somehow we lack the information and almost no documentation support after the colonialism...only recently they've found written records in several countries... Anyway...well done Kedah Tua!!! They have the knowledge of iron processing since the 1st century...that is something!! Thanks Jetlag warriors...you've made the history fun!! fun fact : history is one of the least favourite subject in Malaysia during my schooling day...
Steve makes history fun... I make fun of history... Sungai Batu = Origin of Iron Maiden Bujang Valley = Where majority of residence are single in marital status.
