16 February 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Sumatran fishing crews may have found the legendary Gold Island in the Mud of the Indonesian River

The site of the Srivijaya kingdom, known in ancient times as the Island of Gold, may have been found by local fishing crews doing night-time dives in Indonesia‘s Musi River.

The legendary kingdom inexplicably disappeared in the 14th century, taking its great fortune with it.

Dr. Sean Kingsley, a British maritime archaeologist, believes the discoveries, which include a ruby-studded life-size golden Buddha worth millions of dollars, represent the gradual rediscovery of a lost merchant palace city from the kingdom of Svirijaya, which ruled trade routes in large parts of Indonesia for 400 years.

The palace city, located around the town of Palembang, also known as “Venice of the East,” would have sat on a major artery of the maritime version of the Silk Road.

Dr. Sean Kingsley described the trove as definitive evidence that Srivijaya was a “Waterworld”, its people living on the river like modern boat people, just as ancient texts record: “When the civilization ended, their wooden houses, palaces, and temples all sank along with all their goods.”

Dr. Sean Kingsley said: “In the last five years, extraordinary stuff has been coming up. Coins of all periods, gold and Buddhist statues, gems, all the kinds of things that you might read about in Sinbad the Sailor and think it was made up. It’s actually real.”

Ancient and early modern Palembang on Sumatra was largely built in the water and then sank. Photograph: Tropenmuseum, Collectie Stichting Nationaal Museum van Wereldculturen
Ancient and early modern Palembang on Sumatra was largely built in the water and then sank. Photograph: Tropenmuseum, Collectie Stichting Nationaal Museum van Wereldculturen

The findings will be published in the latest edition of Wreckwatch, which Kingsley edits. The Srivijayan research is part of a 180-page fall release on China and the Maritime Silk Road.

Dr. Sean Kingsley thinks Sumatra modern sea people, local fishermen, have finally figured out the Srivijaya mystery.

Previously, Australian archaeologists uncovered exquisite collections of pottery preserved in the river silt, reflecting an astonishing number of cultures—including every major Medieval power in Asia, as well as the Dutch, British, and Portuguese.

Kingsley noted that, at its height, Srivijaya controlled the arteries of the Maritime Silk Road, a colossal market in which local, Chinese and Arab goods were traded.

Srivijaya empire
Srivijaya empire

Dr. Kingsley picks up the narrative when he spoke with Dalya Alberge at The Guardian about his upcoming presentation on the lost city in Wreckwatch Magazine.

“From the shallows have surfaced glittering gold and jewels befitting this richest of kingdoms – everything from tools of trade and weapons of war to relics of religion. From the lost temples and places of worship have appeared bronze and gold Buddhist figurines, bronze temple door-knockers bearing the demonic face of Kala, in Hindu legend the mythical head of Rahu who churned the oceans to make an elixir of immortality. Bronze monks’ bells and gold ceremonial rings are studded with rubies and adorned with four-pronged golden vajra scepters, the Hindu symbol for the thunderbolt, the deity’s weapon of choice.”

The reason for the collapse of the kingdom is unclear. Kingsley speculates that it might have been Asia’s Pompeii, buried by Indonesia’s erupting volcanoes. The prevalence of volcanic activity in Indonesia could offer a Pompeii-like explanation, while it’s also possible that riverine activity could have swallowed the city up during a flood or mudslide.

Cover Photo: WreckWatch Magazine

Related Articles

Excavations at Coleshill may rewrite English Civil War history

5 February 2023

5 February 2023

Archaeologists excavating the site of Coleshill Manor in Warwickshire have revealed evidence of what could be one of the first...

Grain Barns dating back 6,000 years unearthed in China

15 December 2022

15 December 2022

Chinese archaeologists have revealed a cluster of 16 ancient granaries that traced back to the mid-late period of the Yangshao...

The 5,000-Year-Old Beaded Burials that Reveal Women’s Power in Copper Age Iberia: Over 270,000 Beads

6 February 2025

6 February 2025

Archaeologists investigating the Montelirio tholos burial site in southwestern Spain, dating back approximately 5,000 years, have uncovered that the women...

A rare statue of K’awiil, Mayan god of Lighting have uncovered in Mexico

1 May 2023

1 May 2023

In southeastern Mexico, archaeologists uncovered a rare sculpture of a powerful Mayan god near the path of a large-scale rail...

Botanical Findings Analysis from Biblical area of Goliath sheds Unprecedented Light on Philistine Ritual Practices

27 February 2024

27 February 2024

Bar-Ilan University researchers shed “unprecedented light” on Philistine ritual practices, such as the use of psychoactive and medicinal plants, by...

A bronze tablet from 2000 years ago proves that Greek was spoken in Anatolia and that a multicultural life existed ‘Anisa tablet’

12 April 2024

12 April 2024

The Anisa bronze tablet proves that Greek was used in Anatolia 2000 years ago and that a multicultural life existed....

Rare 832 copper coins from the Portuguese era unearthed in Goa, India

11 November 2023

11 November 2023

In Sattari, Nanoda, in the state of Goa on the west coast of India, 832 copper coins that are believed...

Analysis of Ancient Scythian Leather Samples Shows Ancient Scythians Made Leather from Human Skin

20 December 2023

20 December 2023

The ancient Scythians’ history as fearsome warriors dates back more than 2,000 years, and now research from a multi-institutional team...

Buddha statue discovered in ancient city of Berenice, Egypt

29 April 2023

29 April 2023

Archaeologists excavating in the ancient Egyptian seaport Berenice Troglodytica on the western shore of the Red Sea have unearthed a...

Ancient Ruins Hidden Under Thessaloniki Metro Revealed

15 January 2023

15 January 2023

The finds unearthed during the construction of local metro facilities in Thessaloniki, a Greek port city on the Thermaic Gulf...

Mustatil Structures in Arabia May Be 7,000-Year-Old Stone Remnants of Cattle Cult

1 May 2021

1 May 2021

Archaeologists examining the mustatil stone remains in the northwest of Arabia think that these stone remains may have been used...

2400-year-old artifacts discovered in the Black Sea’s first scientific underwater excavation

25 March 2024

25 March 2024

Dozens of historical artifacts dating from the 4th century BC to the 12th century AD were unearthed in the first...

A massive Rune stone found under a kitchen floor in Denmark declared treasure

8 June 2023

8 June 2023

A couple in Denmark discovered a massive rune stone weighing approximately 900 kilograms during a home renovation project that planned...

Two new fragments of the Fasti Ostienses, a kind of chronicle engraved on marble slabs, have been found in the Ostia Antica Archaeological Park

19 August 2023

19 August 2023

Two new fragments of the Fasti Ostienses have been discovered in the Ostia Antica Archaeological Park, following investigations carried out...

Denmark King’s spice cabinet discovered on Gribshunden

13 February 2023

13 February 2023

The Gribshunden, a 15th-century Danish royal warship, was uncovered to have been loaded with botanical materials, including the first archaeological...