ACCU Nara International Correspondents
The ACCU correspondents periodically send reports on cultural heritage protection activities in which they recently involved.
This is a collection of the ﬁfth reports submitted by fourteen international correspondents in the Asia-Paciﬁc region.

The Fifth Regular Report
Contents
Bangladesh

1

Cambodia

4

India

7

Indonesia

10

Malaysia

12

Maldives

16

Mongolia17

New Zealand19

Mst. Naheed Sultana
The Use of Ornamental Bricks in Ancient Buddhist Temples in Bihar Dhap of Bangladesh

Srun TechNews from Angkor Archaeological Park : Research Excavation at the Iron Smelting Furnace

Vasant Kumar Swarnkar
Excavation of a Historic Shipwreck

Mohammad Natsir Ridwan Muslim
Conservation of Trowulan Site: The Former Capital City of Majapahit Kingdom

A Ghafar Bin Ahmad
Restoration of the Ihsaniah Iskandariah Mosque: The Old Mosque of Kampung Kuala Dal, Rerak, Malaysia

Aishath Moosa Fikree
Introduction of Cultural Tourism in the Maldives: Alif Dhaal Hanyaameedhoo

Munkhjargal Nargui
Archaeological Site: Kherlen Bars Tower

Matthew Schmidt
Preservation of the Bendigo Bakery at the Bendigo Goldﬁeld, Central Otago, New Zealand: Stage 2- Stabilisation and Archaeological Investigation -Papua New Guinea

24

Singapore

26

Sri Lanka

28

Thailand32

Viet Nam

34

Uzbekistan

36

Naomi Faik Simet
The Preservation and Maintenance of the Yangit Female Initiation Ceremony in Papua New Guinea

Faith Teh Eng Eng
Engaging the Community: Marking of Heritage and Community Trails in Singapore

Sujeeva Kaushalyani Peiris Deraniyagala
Conservation of Old Dutch Hospital Building, Galle Fort, Sri Lanka

Wirayar Chamnanpol
Thailandʼs Cultural Heritage Protection Using GIS: Part II - Prediction of the Disaster Impact on Ancient
Monument by GIS -Nguyen Khanh Trung Kien
Binh Lam Tower: the Restoration and Conservation Issues

Akmaljon Ulmasov
News from Uzbekistan on Cultural Heritage Preservation������������������������

Bangladesh
Mst. Naheed Sultana, Custodian
Department of Archaeology, Ministry of Cultural Affairs
Ornamentation is one of the ancient devices of the growth ofa vast ‘Sangharam’(Monastery) called Po-Shi-Po and met

human civilization and culture. People in the Paleolithic Age made700 Buddhist monks who took part in religious activities.

blunt weapons well-shaped and polished and thus they created

Subsequently, in the year of 1879-1880, Sir Alexander Cunningham

a new tradition in the advancement of civilization. People in theduring his archaeological survey of Bengal, visited the place and

Neolithic Age went a step ahead by producing and using ﬁre in

identiﬁed the Bihar to be exactly the ancient Po-Shi-Po.

Bangladesh

The Use of Ornamental Bricks in Ancient Buddhist Temples in Bihar Dhap ofBangladesh

burning bricks and pottery. From the ancient period, extensive
ornamental decoration in making wares and votive articles has

Two Buddhist monasteries (Sangharam) were revealed bybeen used for religious purposes. It is observed that the ‘Rajas’

conducting excavations at the west side of the archaeological site

(kings) and ‘Maharajas’(Emperors) during their religion-basedof Bihar Dhap. Besides, by conducting another excavation in thereign made rich and pompous administrative centres, forts,

southern areas, a Buddhist temple measuring 29.50 m×29.00 m

royal palaces, buildings, temples, mosques, under their personal

and the ruins of another Buddhist temple measuring 12.00 m × 9.70

supervision and patronage and thereby earned honour, name andm were unveiled.

fame. In these architectural frame works they made extensive,
pompous decoration and beautification to gain public support

The comparatively specious temple is assumed to be built in thefrom the subjects in one hand and to highlight religious fervour

5th century A.D. and the small one in the 11th or 12th century.

in the other. During the reign of Asoka the Great (272-232 B.C.),

Only 2.28 m high walls have been found intact. The ornamented

in the Maurya Dynasty when Buddhism became the state religion,bricks were laid so artistically and perfectly in two layers of the

he introduced ancient arts following those ancient types of works,

wall that attract notice of all. Only1.05 meter-high wall from theand many artistic architectures and sculptures subsequently

surface, with ornamented bricks in one line were still in situ. Just

came into use. Evidences of those works have been found in the

50 cm above this wall, the setting of large size terracotta plaques

accounts of Huen Tsang, the world famous Chinese Buddhist

have wonderfully enriched the beautiﬁcation along with the stylepilgrim.

of construction of the temple. Since the temple was devastated,
only four terracotta plaques in the second layer have been found

Location and description of Bihar Dhap archaeological site:

in situ.

The Buddhist archaeological site of Bihar Dhap is a village of
Shibgonj Upozila in the northern district of Bogra in Bangladesh.

Ornamented bricks of the ﬁrst layer

Huen Tsang reported while traveling in Bengal that he visited

In the Vedibandh or ﬁrst layer, the appropriate placement of 30

The Buddhist temple of Bihar Dhap archaeological site (11th -12th century)

1

Bangladesh

ornamented bricks speaks of the acumen of the high order. Each(4) Geometrical design based ornamentation: Ornamented bricksof the ornamented bricks measures 25 cm×12 cm and they are

were divided into three triangles and half sunﬂower designs wereplaced at an equal distance of 25 cm. One of special characteristics

set in between the triangles. The borders were ornamented byof ornamented bricks is that the ornamentation pattern of one

petals and wavy designs.

brick is different from one another. Each ornamented brick bear

(5) Panel based ornamentation: Bricks of this portion was divided

the emblem of lotus, petals of ﬂowers, arch designs, geometricalinto three panels, and those panels were again divided into somedesigns, trident, wave and rope etc.

triangular portions. Half sunﬂower designs were made within thetriangles. Besides, the panels at the middle were ﬁlled with chain

In respect of design and characteristics, the ornamented bricks are

motif and ﬂower petals.

classiﬁed into seven categories:(6) Half-ﬂoral design based ornamentation: The bricks were divided
into three panels. At the middle of the panels, full-ﬂowered china(1) Arch-based ornamentation: The main characteristics were thatroses were set. Again the panels were divided into triangles andeach brick bore two arches. Moreover, there were ornamented

those were ﬁlled with half bloomed sun ﬂowers and ﬂower petals.

borders bearing emblems of ﬂower, petals of different type, four(7) Own self’s design: In the seventh part of the work, it was

petal flowers, triangle ornamentation, rhombus, quadrilateral,

observed that the ﬁve ornamented bricks were quite different frompillar, chain motif in between and the side of ornamented bricks.

others. Here, one brick contained geometrical ornamentation of(2) Flower based ornamentation: In the second phase of

ﬂoral designs in it and another brick with four rows of dog teeth

ornamentation, the works were beautiﬁed by giving prominence

covering the whole portion were found. The third was foundto sunflower or lotus. An oval shaped border was made at theto have been ornamented geometrically with four-petal flower

centre and a large number of petals were set around it and four

design. In the fourth, we observed a four centered arch divided

half bloomed flowers covered the whole brick from the four

into two parts and set at the middle of the panel. In the fifth,

corners of the ﬂower.

we found two tridents were set horizontally with spiral design(3) Notch-Arch based ornamentation: The ornamented bricks usedornamentation.

in this section were notched and arched. Centering these arches,tall leaves, rhombus and wavy designs were beautifully engraved
around the bricks.

Arch-based Ornamentation

Floral based ornamentation2

In the ﬁeld of construction of temples and other religious ediﬁce

site of Bihar Dhap developed as an important centre of Buddhist

in Bangladesh, the device of beautifying by terracotta plaques andculture and education. With development of the Buddhist centre,

ornamented bricks undoubtedly added new and own dimensions.

the pompous ornamentation also developed to complete theperfect style of arts and construction, Buddhist culture and society

Bangladesh

From the very earliest period of the history, the archaeologicalas a whole. The Buddhist temple of Bihar Dhap obviously bears
testimony to that excellence.

Geometrical design based ornamentation

Half-ﬂoral design based ornamentation

Own self's design

3Cambodia
CambodiaNews from Angkor Archaeological Park: Research Excavation at the Iron
Smelting Furnace
Srun Teck, Archaeologist, Archaeological Preventive Unit, Department of Conservation of Monuments in the
Angkor Park and Preventive Archaeology, APSARA Authority
1. Localization of Iron Mine Site and Iron Production

not mean that all those sculptures were from Kuy people, but at

The main iron mine sites in Cambodia are located in the northleast Kuy has paid their contributions to royal services. Numerousof the country, called Phnom Dek, which literally means "Hill of

Khmer words were borrowed from Kuy language especially in theIron", and situated about 228 kilometers north of Phnom Penh City

fields related to the rituals, tradition and customs. From culturalin Kampong Thom Province (the heart of Cambodia).

point of view, the Kuy has been existing as an ethnic minority
very close to the Khmer. They knew and well performed Khmer

The famous iron production centers are as follows:

traditions and beliefs in their daily life. The word “Sanlong”, which- Bakan, called Preah Khan Kompong Svay, a city of Jayavarmanmeans iron smelting site in a Kuy dialect, is still used in any

VII. Chanrot located close to the well-known iron mine, in

KuyDek communities [Final report of LARP team, 2007].

Kampong Thom Province.
- Phnom Dek, in Preah Vihear Province.

During the intensive cultural survey in their settlements, the- Prey Sanlong, located about 20km eastern of Royal Road Angkor-

person whom we interviewed said that in the ancient time Khmer

Phimai, in Udor Meanchey Province.

and Kuy people did the smelting but nobody remembered how
to smelt any more. He also said that he knew how to produce

There are many iron smelting furnaces at each iron production

different kinds of tools from metal/iron. He was currently still

center.

producing a kind of swords and knives (such cutting tools areused in daily life), which was a very important thing to learn [Final

2. History of Iron Smelting

report of LARP team, 2007].

Most of the iron smelting furnaces sites are near the ethnic Kuy
community’s settlements. Kuy population settled in Cambodia and

The Iron tools produced by the Kuy, living on the north ofThailand. They were masters of iron and ﬁres; and also masters of

Cambodia in the 19th century, are similar to that of sculptured

elephant hunting. Observing the sculptures of Angkor temple walls,

on the walls of Angkor Wat temple (in the 12th century) [Jack-

we can ﬁnd elephants, scene of combats and war tools. This does

Hergoaulc’h, 1979].

Mapping of Kuy settlements (LARP document)

Excavation activities

4

A map of the Kvav iron smelting

team was successful in research of the Royal Road from Angkor

empire by providing the iron weapons. Since 1880, the Kingdom

to Phimai (Korat Province, Thailand) and they also participatedof Khmer and Thailand have imported iron from China [Udaya, N.7,

in excavation on iron smelting furnace in Ban Khao Din Tai, Ban

2006].

Kruad, in Buriram Province, Thailand with Thai counterparts .

Since around 1930, the income from iron production was not

From the Angkor to the Cambodia border, the LARP team foundenough for supporting their living so they have to ﬁnd other jobs.

ten mound sites of the iron smelting along the Royal Road from

Moreover, many iron fragments from scrapped cars or motors

Angkor to Phimai, three sites in Siem Reap Province, five sites

became easily available thus Kuy people decided to stop the ironin Udor Meanchey Province and two more on the north of thereﬁning. In 1970, the iron smelting furnaces were abandoned andKhmer-Thai border.

Cambodia

It was supposed that the Kuy people had supported the Khmer

covered by vegetation [Udaya, N.7, 2006].
The excavation at iron smelting furnace in Kvav Village was
3. Research Excavation at Iron Smelting Furnace

conducted in August 2009 and ﬁnished in September 2009. The

The iron smelting furnaces are located in Kvav Village, Kvav

team decided to excavate on iron mound located on the west

Commune, Chikraeng District, Siem Reap Province and on the

because the iron mound was destroyed some part and on thesouthern of Royal Road from Angkor to Bakan (Preah Khanverge of complete destruction in the near future. For the rest areas

Kompong Svay), see the map of the kvav iron smelting. Up to now,

we opened four trenches covered on an area of 56 sq km, see thethis site has not been discovered by any other scholar, but APSARA

topographic map.

Authority has known it by chance. Local residents destroyed thesesites when they constructed their houses and cleared the land for

The aims of the excavation are to gain knowledge on the ancientfarming. In that region, there are ﬁve iron mounds, called by local

iron smelting technology to compare with other sites, and topeople “Hill of Iron” but four of them were already destroyed.

gather data that can further lead to a better understanding on theassociation and relationship of the “Ancient Royal Road”.

This was the ﬁrst time that the research excavation was conductedon the iron smelting furnace in Cambodia. Those in charge ofAs a result, the LARP team did not unearth iron smelting

excavation were Cambodian archaeologists from the LARP team,furnaces intact, but they found the remains of iron slag, iron

Living Angkor Road Project (IM Sokrithy, Ea Darith, Heng Than,ores, Charcoals and ash, iron smelting debris, many fragments ofKhieu Chan, Srun Tech, Kim Samnang), APSARA Authority. The

Tuyères (pipe of the smelting made from burned clay), and trace

The famous iron production centers in Cambodia (LARP document)

Metal slag at Prey Sanlong

A topographic map of excavation trenches (LARP document)

Tuyè res, metal slag and debris of furnace wall (burned clay)

5

Cambodiaof three holes of wooden shelter column. Based on these results,

existed in the same period as the Angkor by comparing with thethe team concluded that there were two wooden shelters removed

fragments of Khmer and Chinese potsherds excavated in the sameafter they stop in production there. This site was probably nottrench [Report of LARP team, 2009].

successful in iron smelting work because the team discovered lotsof unreﬁned irons ores still remained.
The smelting furnace was demolished after they finished thesmelting iron work. The furnace wall was made by clay withbamboo stick. The team temporally identified that this site

Metal slag at Bakan (LARP photo)

A topographic map, one of ﬁve mounds at Kvav iron smelting (LARP document)

Excavation activities

6IndiaIndia

Excavation of a Historic Shipwreck
Vasant Kumar Swarnkar, Deputy Superintending Archaeologist
Archaeological Survey of India
Ships and boats have always played an important role in theboats were hired for carrying out diving. One of the boats was

history of mankind. These were the only means of survival andinstalled with underwater camera and communication system.

of contact with the other world especially for the people livingin the isolated islands. Many of the ships crossed high seas andSitereached to their destinations but some of them got wrecked on

At the shipwreck site debris of the wreck was scattered over a

their way and are still lying preserved on the ocean floor. One

large area ranging from 9 to 64 m in depth. Area from 9 to 12

of such ancient shipwrecks, Princes Royal, was found on them, had a gentle slope with some ups and downs. After 12 m inouter slope of the reef of Bangaram Island. Excavation of Princes

depth, there was sudden fall and then a steep slope down to 36 m.

Royal, a historic ship-wreck in the Arabian Sea, was the first

The slope of the middle terrace between 20-36 m was sandy andunderwater archaeological excavation in the country taken up by

scattered with a variety of artifacts. After 36 m, there was a vertical

the Archaeological Survey of India.

fall to 51 m. The lower terrace from 51 to 64 m, was sloppy withthick cover of sand and heaps of artifacts close to a cliff. After 64 m,

Location

the depth falls to several thousand meters.

Bangaram Island (10° 56' North lat. and 72° 17' East long.) issituated in Union Territory of Lakshadweep, which is lying directlyDivingin the trade route between Africa, Arabia and Malabar Coast.

Due to safety regulations, the diving was restricted to 54 m in

These regions were the land mark for the ships sailing in Arabian

depth. A wide range of diving equipment was used by the divers

Sea. The Bangaram Island is lying about 8 km north of Agattiof the Archaeological Survey of India and Indian Navy during

and 459 km away from Cochin. This tiny Island of 47 hectares isthe excavation. The Superlite 17 – B helmets was used to lighten

enclosed by 10 km long and 6 km wide magniﬁcent lagoon.

divers from carrying cylinder and to provide an opportunity towork for longer duration. Self contained underwater breathing

Discovery and Previous Research

apparatus (SCUBA) with twin cylinders was used in deeper diving,On December 1990, three sport divers noticed some objects lying

which helped in free movement of divers during identification

exposed on the outer slope of the coral reef. They managed to liftof objects and documentation of the site. Self contained Divatora number of objects which were taken by the Police. In April 1991,

sets were used with wireless underwater communication system.

Dr Alok Tripathi from the Archaeological Survey of India carried

The director of the excavation project constantly monitored theout diving to the 40 m depth using a conventional compressed

activities of these divers on the sea and necessary instructions

air diving method and systematically studied the wreck site.

were given time to time. The excavation followed a thoroughIn April 1992, the diving team from Marine Archaeology Club,

documentation of all the objects and activities on the site throughBombay visited the site and carried out diving. In March 1995,

photography, videography, drawings and detailed notes.

divers of Southern Naval Command of Indian Navy also carriedout diving on the site and INS Sujata fixed the position of theLayout of Grids

wreck. With the establishment of Underwater Archaeology Wing,

The site was divided into two parts, i.e. southern and northern

the Director–General of Archaeological Survey of India, approved

sectors. The entire site was divided into three metre square grids

the excavation of this shipwreck in the ﬁeld season of 2001-2002.

with the help of 8 mm lines running east to west and north to

In May 2002, the site was reinvestigated jointly with Indian Navy.

south. Each grid was given a specific number for conducting

INS Jamuna equipped with latest survey equipments was deputed

systematic excavation. In the northern sector, an area was selected

to carry out underwater survey. The INS Nireekshak was deployedon the lower edge of the middle terrace. A grid of perforated ironfor underwater archaeological excavation. Besides this, country

angle was prepared to mark the area of excavation.

The anchor of the shipwreck

Bangaram Island

7

IndiaExcavation/ Findings

laying at one place and the fourth cannon lay at some distance

Excavation was conducted very systematically with excellent

near by the group of three cannons.

documentation. Mechanical as well as manual methods were
employed for conducting excavation. Debris was removed

Retrieval of Objects

layer by layer and every find was carefully documented by the

Before the retrieval, artifacts were well documented in-situ. Objects

archaeologist or under his direct supervision. Large numbers offound in large quantity were retrieved through the perforated

bricks, pieces of brown glazed jars, pieces of wood, corrodedbaskets. Divers took these baskets with them and filled withand cemented parts of the ship, a copper fry-pan, potsherd of

objects from a layer or trench with marking tags and divers on theporcelain, potsherd of red ware with embossed design, etc. wereboat pulled them up. Heavy objects were lifted with the help ofrecovered from the trenches. Two complete brown glazed pots,

lifting balloons. Before storage, objects were again documented by

one green glazed potsherd, one bowl were also recovered. Iron

the archaeologists on the boat.

objects like cannon, an anchor, copper objects like long and smallrods, nails of various shapes and sizes, vessels, pieces of protective

Datingsheets etc. were recovered. Earlier a bronze bell inscribed withThe letters were inscribed on the bell as PRINCES ROYAL-1792,

PRINCES ROYAL - 1792, of the ship was also found at the wreck

which ﬁts with other evidence and therefore can be accepted assite. It had a circumference of 83 cm at the top, 147 cm at thethe date of the ship.

bottom, 49 cm high and weights about 100 kg. Four cannons werealso found, out of these, three cannons forming a triangle were

The bell of the ship, inscribed with

8

Princes Royal 1792

Cannons during excavation

IndiaA diver excavating a cannon

A diver retrieving an excavated pot

Excavation of upper terrace

Lifting excavated objects

The excavated brown glazed pot

Transportation of excavated debris

9Indonesia
Indonesia

Conservation of Trowulan Site: The Former Capital City of Majapahit Kingdom
Mohammad Nastsir Ridwan Muslim, Head of Section
Directorate of Archaeological Heritage, Ministry of Culture and Tourism
Majapahit Kingdom was one of the largest kingdom in Indonesia

The diverse artifacts that support the Trowulan site as the former

in the 13th to 16th century AD. The inﬂuence of this kingdom

capital city of Majapahit Kingdom can be observed until today.

stretched from the Malays Peninsula, Sumatra, Java, Kalimantan,

The archaeological remains and thousands of artifacts discovered

to the East of Indonesia. The greatness of Majapahit Kingdom wasin The Trowulan site are strong indications that Trowulan

represented in the Trowulan site, in Mojokerto, East Java. The

was an urban city at that time. Based on the archaeological

Trowulan site is an archaeological site that clearly displays theresearch conducted in the Trowulan site, it can be concluded

remains of a human settlement in the scale of a city. The Trowulanthat the Trowulan site was built through a process of carefulsite is the only city site of the Hindu-Buddha classical age inconsideration and done by thorough planning with detailed

Indonesia that can still be found. The Trowulan site covered an

and modern architecture that promoted local wisdom in caring

area of 9 km×11 km, which included the districts of Trowulan

for the environment. This provides proof of the accumulationand Sooko within the regency of Mojokerto and the districts ofof knowledge and ideas from a sophisticated civilization of the

Mojoagung and Mojowarno under the Jombang Regency. Having

ancestors of Indonesians in the 12th to 15th century AD.

such wide area coverage, the Trowulan site showed a wealthreservoirs, canal system, construction elements, and thousands ofConservation of Trowulan Site
The intriguing site of the remains of Majapahit Kingdom wasterracotta and ceramic tools used for domestic purposes. Among

discovered through long and extensive research. The researchthese findings, many sites of the remains of human settlementon the Trowulan site has been done since the 1800s until

were also revealed.

now. Conservation activities that have been done include theof heritage in the form of temples, gateways, water structures,archaeological excavations, site mapping, restoration, conservation

10

Geographically, the Trowulan area was suitable for humanof remains, increasing public appreciation on the site, etc.

settlement since it was supported by plane topography withYear after year, more research and preservation activities wererelatively shallow ground water. Hundreds of thousands ofconducted on the Trowulan Site not only by the Centre forarchaeological remains of the old city in the Trowulan site were

Cultural Heritage Preservation of East Java, that is responsible forfound buried underground as well as on the surface in the form ofconserving the site, but also by other institutions and academicians

artifacts, ecofacts (animal bones, seeds, pollen, etc.), and features.

who have concern towards the heritage of the glorious Majapahit

Excavation process

Excavation process

After excavation, December 2009

Site documentation used the 3D laser scanning after excavation

Archaeological excavations on this site resulted in the discovery

sites and remnants of human settlement have been excavated,of more than 240,000 fragments of the household appliances such

restored, maintained and utilized such as the Mouse Temple (Candi

as pottery, ceramics, barrels, plates, bowls, jars, etc and building

Tikus), Gateway of Bajangratu, Baru Temple, Gentong Temple, theelements such as roof tiles, ukel1, pipelines, bases, etc. In addition,

Gateway of Wringinlawang, Kedaton Temple, and the Sentonorejo

coins, keys, jewelry, chains, and keris 2 were also unearthed.

Settlement.

Indonesia

Kingdom in the Trowulan Site. As time progresses, many building

The visual documentation of this archaeological excavation has
been done by using 3D laser scanner with a 5 mm level of detail

In the year 2009, the Directorate of Archaeological Heritage andconducted by Center of Borobudur Heritage Conservation. In

Archaeological Office of East Java, in collaboration with theaddition, to help estimate further ﬁndings on the unexplored areas

Faculty of Humanities, University of Indonesia, has conductedof the Segaran site, research has been done by using Geo-radararchaeological excavations at the Trowulan site, located in Segaranequipment made by the Agency for the Assessment and Applicationsite. This location was stuffed with numerous remains that showedTechnology. The Government of Indonesia committed itself toevidence of ancient settlement. This excavation aimed to findcontinue preserving the great remains of the Majapahit Kingdom inand set boundaries on the ancient settlement units in Segaran

an integrated approach with national interests in the future.

site in Trowulan Archaeological site and to identify the patternsof the remaining housing in the rest of this site for purposeshorizontal excavation strategy with consideration on the target of――――――――――――――――――――――――――――
1
Ukel is part of the roof elements with form of curve made ofunit residential space, while using a lot system as the excavation

terracotta (Indonesian).

method. An excavation area amounted to 1,460 m2, with the2of 2D and 3D reconstruction. Excavations were carried out by

Keris is an asymmetrical dagger indigenous to Indonesia.

number of 365 excavation boxes, with a size of 2×2 m. Excavation
were conducted from July to December 2009.

GPR survey before the excavation

Miniature of Majapahit houses found during excavation Segaran site in 2009

Roof decoration

Roof tiles

Ukel

ReliefMiniatures

11

Malaysia
Malaysia

Restoration of the Ihsaniah Iskandariah Mosque: The Old Mosque of Kampung
Kuala Dal, Rerak, Malaysia
A Ghafar Bin Ahmad, Deputy Commissioner of Heritage
Department of National Heritage, Ministry of Information, Communications and Culture, Malaysia
Introduction

Another distinctive feature of the mosque is its timber carvings

The Old Mosque of Kampung Kuala Dal is located in Kampung

found on fanlights and panels, particularly above the windows.

Kuala Dal, Padang Rengas about 4.8 km from the royal town ofThese carvings, made of Meranti timber (Shorea parvifolia), portray

Kuala Kangsar in the State of Perak, Malaysia. Built in 1936, theﬂowery motifs commonly found in traditional Malay houses andmosque was originally known as the Ihsaniah Iskandariah Mosque.

palaces in the country. The intricate design features of the mosque

It was named after the 30th Sultan of Perak, Al-Marhum Paduka

and its distinctive colours have made the building as one of theSeri Sultan Iskandar Shah, who ﬁnanced its construction costs of

tourist attractions in the area.

RM80,000 ($23,262.58 USD). The building of the mosque was anazar (religious gesture) by the Sultan to appreciate the recovery

Restoration Worksof his ailing child. The mosque was sited on waqaf (endowed)

A dilapidation survey conducted by the Department of National

land bestowed by Juragan Abdul Shukur bin Mohamad Ali. The

Heritage has identified the major defects of the Old Mosquemosque was built by local Chinese builders assisted by the local

comprised the timber and bamboo components. One of thecommunity. A commemorative plaque dated the ofﬁcial opening

timber columns was badly decayed, while the remaining columnsof the mosque on Friday 10 Zulhijjah 1356 Hijrah by the Islamic

were still intact with minor superﬁcial decays on the surface andcalendar (or 11 February 1938). Since 1976, the Old Mosque which

joints. Continuous rainfall and dampness from the leaking roofs

suffered severe building defects was left abandoned to makehave accelerated the decaying process of the timber structures

way for a new Al-Wahidiah Mosque nearby. The Department ofand bamboo weavings of the Old Mosque. The bamboo-weaving

National Heritage, Ministry of Information, Communications andwalls and timber lattice panels were in poor condition with signs

Culture, Malaysia stood in the forefront to restore the Old Mosqueof ageing, rotting and insect attacks. Measures to restore the Old

to its original use. The restoration works on the Old Mosque

Mosque were determined based on building defect diagnoses.

took place over a period of 6 months from 22 December 2008

The building elements to be restored included roofing, timber

until 21 June 2009. The restoration works involved an amount of

ﬂoor, column, concrete staircase at entry door, timber staircase en

RM786,100 ($228,850 USD) received from the Federal Government.

route to upper floor, windows and doors, timber carvings;
and bamboo-weaving walls. Other restoration works involved

Architectural Signiﬁcancerepairing defective rainwater goods, sewerage system, electrical

The architectural style of the Old Mosque of Kampung Kuala Dal

and mechanical works; and termite treatments.

is a reﬂection of royalty, resonating from the main palace complexof Istana Kenangan (Memorial Palace) located at Bukit Chandan,

The restoration of timber carvings involved making an inventory

Kuala Kangsar, Perak. Structurally, the mosque is a two-storeyof the original intricate patterns, and determining the size ofbuilding of timber frame built using the local materials of timber,

timber panels and timber species. Defective timber carvings

bamboo and cement. The upper level has timber ﬂooring, while

were identified for repair or replacement. The newly replaced

the ground level has cement ﬂoor. The prayer area and mimbar (thetimber carvings were hand-made by skilled carpenters. While theprayer front) are located in the upper ﬂoor of the mosque. There

restoration of bamboo weavings involved making an inventory

is a staircase en route to the upper ﬂoor of the mosque locatedof the original bamboo-weaving panels by building section andat the side of the building. The mosque has eighteen windows,

location; cleaning the original intact weavings using a soft brush;

two doors and decorated walls with ﬂoral and moon-star (Islamic)

and drying and repainting the weavings to their original colours.

motifs. Timber columns made of Merbau (Intsia bijuga) are placedon the ground floor of the mosque. They are positioned on

Damaged bamboo weavings were removed and replaced withconcrete stumps ﬁxed onto the cement ﬂoor.

new ones. To prepare bamboos for the traditional weaving
process, bamboos of 0.5 meter in length were soaked overnight

The mosque is an architectural masterpiece due to distinct

to cleanse them. These bamboos were left to dry for several days

diamond-shaped bamboo weaving decorations (known as tepas)

before they were sliced into pieces of 0.02 mm thickness using

found on most of the walls. A special type of bamboo (buluh

a special machine. Bamboos of a softer texture and flexibility,

minyak or Babbusa vulgaris) was used to make the uniquely-

similar to the original ones at the Old Mosque, were used to makedesigned weavings. These aesthetically distinctive decorative

new diamond-shaped weavings. Weavings were painted using thebamboo walls were hand-carved and weaved by the local folks.

colours of the Perak ﬂag to complete the pieces.

The patterns and motifs on the mosque walls are similar to thatfound on the walls of Istana Kenangan. The original colours of

The special type of bamboo (buluh minyak) used to make thethe carvings and weavings followed the colours of the Perak ﬂag

original bamboo weavings was no longer available in Kuala

which are yellow, black and white.

Kangsar area but could be obtained from Arau, State of Perlis
located in northern Malaysia. Traditional bamboo weavings were

12

The restoration of the Ihsaniah Iskandariah Mosque or theof Perlis. Expert weavers in the vicinity of Kuala Kangsar were

Old Mosque of Kampung Kuala Dal has marked another

unavailable for such work due to their old age and health factors.

fruitful conservation project undertaken by the Department of
National Heritage, Ministry of Information, Communications andConclusions

Culture, Malaysia. This effort has underlined the importance ofAfter the restoration works were completed, the steeringcommunication, collaboration and networking among all parties

committee of the Old Mosque of Kampung Kuala Dal has decided

involved in the restoration work to ensure a rewarding success.

to retain the mosque for Islamic functions. The upper ﬂoor of the

They include the federal, state and local authorities; architect,mosque is now used for Al-Quran reading classes; while the lower

building conservator, engineer, quantity surveyor, building

ﬂoor is used as a meeting room for the mosque committee. On

contractor, the mosque committee as well as the local community.

17 December 2009, the mosque was ofﬁcially handed over to the

In the light of challenges that lay ahead, the Department ofmosque committee by the Commissioner of Heritage, Department

National Heritage is poised to play a major role to guide and boostof National Heritage. A brass plaque was placed at the front wall

all efforts to conserve heritage properties as national treasures forto commemorate the completion of the restoration project.

the betterment and enjoyment of future generations in Malaysia.

Malaysia

hand-made by a handicraft entrepreneur, Mrs. Meriah Ahmad

The Old Mosque of Kampung Kuala Dal before restoration. The building was in poor condition with signs of ageing, rotting and insect attacks.

The Old Mosque of Kampung Kuala Dal after restoration. Among building elements that were restored included rooﬁng, timber ﬂoor, columns,
concrete staircase at entry door, timber staircase en route to upper ﬂoor, windows and doors, timber carvings;and bamboo-weaving walls.

13

Malaysia
Views showing the main entrance of the mosque before, during and after restoration.

Interior views of the main prayer hall at upper level before and after restoration.

Restoration of bamboo-weaving walls involved making an inventory according to sections and locations, cleaning the original intact weaving panels
using a soft brush, drying and repainting.

Local villagers were involved in repainting the bamboo-weaving panels.

14

Malaysia

All missing and broken timber carvings found at fanlights and panels above window
were restored and repainted based on the original motifs and colours.

Experienced and skilled carpenters were engaged to do the timber carvings.

Traditional bamboo weavings were hand-made by a handicraft entrepreneur, Mrs. Meriah Ahmad of Perlis.

15

Maldives
Maldives

Introduction of Cultural Tourism in the Maldives: Alif Dhaal Hanyaameedhoo
Aishath Moosa Fikree, Curator
National Museums, Maldives
The Maldives is a small island nation state with beautiful sandy

incentive for a precedent to develop successful heritage tourism

beaches, the turquoise sea, amazing coral reefs, and sunshinethat not only beneﬁts the people economically but also gets themthrough out the year. These all attracts a large number of tourists

back to their heritage. It also gave people an opportunity to be

and the country heavily depends on tourism as an important

involved in developing a system of heritage management that was

source of foreign income. Although Maldives has a rich history

multifaceted and multidimensional in context.

dating back to more than 2000 years, with archaeological sites on
almost every island of the 1,190 islands of the country, being a

The isolated nature of heritage sites in the Maldives has beendeveloping country, not much attention or ﬁnancial aid has been

one of the key reasons why their interpretation seems bland

given to gain insight into its history and culture. The Nationaland disjointed. However with these documents to be translated

Centre for Linguistic and Historical Research (NCLHR) is theand interpreted, this particular opportunity is important to bringgovernment ofﬁce under which such work is carried out. It has

about a factual historical context to some of the local heritage

done a lot of work to increase awareness among the public onsites of the island of Alif Dhaal Hanyaameedhoo. Thus a project

the importance of their heritage. Today with the fast development

has been devised to use these historical documents to develop anof the country, the need is felt to review and revive the history

interpretive thread linking among the different heritage sites in theand culture of the country. Also with the change of government

island. The missives and grants are to be used as an interpretive

policy, the idea of expanding the paradigms of tourism to by

tool to understand the ancient mosque, graveyard and the shrine

incorporating cultural heritage has been underscored.

housing of the grave of Sultan Kalaafaanu. This project has been
divided into two phases, the ﬁrst of which was to develop a small

The heritage sites in Alif Dhaal Hanyaameedhoo of Maldives haveinterpretation of the site and initiating the project. This was done

been chosen to develop as the pivot island for the introduction offor 17 October 2009 commemorating the martyrdom of Sultan

cultural tourism in the Maldives by our President, H.E Mohamed

Kalaafaanu. In the second phase, the site is to be fully prepared as

Nasheed, upon the discovery of several important historicalthe heritage site with visitor facilities and additional establishments

missives and grants relating to Hanyaameedhoo from the President’such as an exhibition area, souvenir shops, rest rooms to revitalizes office. These documents provided a unique insight into thecultural tourism. The second phase of the project is now underhistory of the island and the heritage sites within its boundary. The

way and is planned to be completed in three years.

discovery of the documentation provided the government with an

The ancient mosque at the back, the ﬂagged shrine of Sultan Kalaafaanu, and the well of the mosque.

The documents room of the mosque, developed as the interpretation room in the ﬁrst phase of the project.

16

Mongolia
Mongolia

Archaeological Site: Kherlen Bars Tower
Munkhjargal Nergui, Cultural Assistant
Mongolian National Commission for UNESCO
Since the ancient times, nomadic populations of Central Asia have

Existing seven-ﬂoor tower is 16 m high and octahedral and built

been inhabiting in the present territory of Mongolia and alternately

by wood and brick. Each ﬂoor has a small window with the size

establishing their governments. Therefore many historical andof 40 x 60 cm. The base is three meter high from the bottom

cultural monuments attesting to the nomadic civilization of Centralwith the shape like the lotus. It is tapering from this base andAsia have been preserved and kept in the Mongolian territory. As

the top is one meter. At present this tower is facing the verge ofis shown in archaeological survey, about 200 ruins and remains

collapse and became very vulnerable to erosion. Also interior wallof ancient towns are located in the territory of Mongolia. One ofpaintings and decorations of the tower have been exploited andthese monuments is the ruin of an ancient Kherlen Bars town,

in danger of disappearing by the inappropriate actions of local

which was built over 1000 years ago representing the historicalpeople, tourists, wild animals and livestock.

period of the Kidan-era.
This tower of Kherlen Bars is an outstanding example of a type
The Kidans1 were descended from an ancient people knownof construction and architectural assembly, which illustrates aas the Dunhu, and are generally considered to have shared asigniﬁcant stage in the history of the Kidan Empire.

common ancestry with the Mongols. The territory administered by
the Kidans extended from the Paciﬁc Ocean to the Mongolian Altai————————————————————————————

Mountain and from the Tuul River of Mongolia to the Great Wall1of China. The Kidans themselves developed an unusual culture

located at Mongolia and Manchuria from the 4th century, andcombining features from the nomadic and sedentary civilizations.

established the Liao Dynasty (916 - 1125).

“Kidan” can be written Hitan, Kitan or Khitan. They originally

They made significant progress in the construction of towns,
temples, stupas and stone bridges. The evidence of this is Kherlen
Bars Town in the territory of Mongolia. The ruins of Kherlen Bars
Town are not studied well.
According to the archaeological survey in 1953, the two towers
were revealed near the ruins of Kherlen Bars town. The ruin is
located at 95 km to the west of Choibalsan town of TsagaanOvoo soum of Dornod province in the eastern part of Mongolia.
The main wall of the ruin is 1600-1800 m long on each side, 4 m
thick and 1.5-2 m high. To the south west of the wall there is a
trace of a small stone wall on an elevated earthen platform andfoundations of four buildings are visible within the wall. Also
remains of more than ten square buildings with dimensions of 5-6
m are located in the vicinity. Formerly two ﬁve-ﬂoor and sevenﬂoor towers having interior wall paintings were located inside thewall, but the five-floor tower was entirely destroyed during the1940s. Currently only the seven-ﬂoor tower remains standing fromthe town until today without any reconstruction which is one ofthe very few ancient monuments bearing out their former features,
structures and decorations.
In 1953-1955, an archaeologist Kh. Perlee assumed that the
town was used as a worshipping place. The evidence can befound from the remains of skillfully carved Buddha statues anddecorations of Buddha relics which dominate among the ﬁndings
from excavations at the site as well as brick sculptures withdifferent sizes, ceramic rooting tiles and sculptures, carved wood,bones and metal objects. It is possible that the town has possessedconsiderable military importance serving as a military barrack for acertain period.
Cross sections of Kherlen Bars tower

17

Mongolia
18

A view from inside

A complete view of the tower

Location

The top of the tower

New Zealand
Matthew Schmidt, Regional Archaeologist, Otago/Southland
The New Zealand Historic Places Trust
Introduction

Otago varies greatly over the year from very hot dry summers

The first report on Stage 1 of the stabilisation project of theto below freezing winters. The 19th century schist buildings in

Bendigo Bakery described the history of the ruin, why the building

this region were often mortared using a mud/sand/lime mortar

is archaeologically significant to the 19th century gold mining

mix which does not expand or contract greatly with the large

period of Otago, how the project to stabilise and investigate theﬂuctuations in temperature, and so this mortar works nicely withbakery would proceed and the parties involved in the project.

the characteristics of schist. However, when the top of a wall

New ZealandPreservation of the Bendigo Bakery at the Bendigo Goldﬁeld, Central Otago, New Zealand: Stage 2− Stabilisation and Archaeological Investigation −is exposed to rain, ice and frost, for example, the mortar andThis second and final report on Stage 2 of the project briefly

therefore the wall begins to deteriorate quickly. Capping of thepresents the results of the stabilisation and archaeologicalbakery walls involved mortaring schist slabs and pieces in place toinvestigation of the bakery undertaken from the 2nd to the 4th of

produce a slight angle in the capping so water can run off the top

September 2009 and describes how the ruin will be managed inof the wall, hence discouraging water to peculate down throughthe long term to preserve this signiﬁcant structure of the Otago

the structure. Figure 8 shows the window sill on the front wall of

goldﬁelds.

the bakery being re-pointed to also encourage water to run off thisexposed area of stonework. The mortar recipe used was based on

Stabilisation of the Stoneworkan analysis of the mortar from the ruin itself.

The most crucial element of the project was to ensure theremaining stonework of the bakery was stabilised in a manner

Figures 9 to 11 show the back wall and chimney of the bakery

where the building could be managed in the long term as a

before and after stone was introduced to these areas to stabilise‘heritage ruin’. This also meant balancing the need to change thethese locations from possible collapse. The stone used has been

structure by introducing mortar and stone to make the building

resourced from directly below the structure and the location of

weather tight and safe for visitors, against the need to retain theeach new stone was recorded so future manager’s of the bakery

look and feel of the structure as an abandoned historic building. It

will know what stone was introduced, when and where.

was considered that the bakery only required minimal intervention
to the stonework to make the building safe and to preserve its

Investigation of the Ovenarchaeological integrity (Figures 1 to 5).

The investigation of the oven area of the bakery had three aims: 1)
to determine whether the mound of earth and stone was actually

Stabilisation of the stonework entailed re-pointing of stonework

the remains of the original schist oven structure; 2) whether any

where mortar had deteriorated and in areas where mortar was

brickwork from the actual bread oven or ovens which lay within

missing; capping on the top of walls where weather was causing

the schist oven structure had survived; and 3) if any of the ovenor could cause further deterioration of a wall; the introduction of

structure was present, how best to manage the archaeologicalstone to areas of the structure where collapse of stonework was

remains.

imminent or highly possible in the near future (stone introduced
was sourced immediate to the area requiring intervention).

Prior to excavation, it was clear that the ‘mound’ at the back of the
bakery was certainly partly the product of debris being bulldozed

In ﬁgures 6 and 7 can be seen the capping used on the top of thearound the back of the ruin in the 20th century. Only throughwalls to make the walls more weather tight. The climate in Central

direct investigation, however, could the nature and extent of any

Figure 1. Bendigo Bakery ruins before stabilisation (photograph:
Matthew Schmidt).

Figure 2. Bendigo Bakery ruins before stabilisation (photograph:
Matthew Schmidt).

19

archaeological remains be determined. In Figures 12 to 18 can be

therefore have been a signiﬁcant size (see Figure 19).

New Zealandseen the remains of the oven structure being revealed through the
excavation of the ‘mound’. The investigation conﬁrmed that theAfter exposure of the remnant oven walls, it was decided not to‘mound’ was a culmination of debris from 19th century activity

excavate into the mound of debris which covered the remainderaround the bakery, such as from occupation of buildings whichof the structure. This was because not only had the aims of theuse to be present on either side of the ruin, and some 20th century

project been satisfied, it was clear this area of the bakery ruin

rubbish. A small amount of the 19th century material located up

had ‘settled’ over the decades and that compromising the moundagainst the original stonework was probably deposited in the latewould mean any archaeological remains revealed would then have

19th century, but the majority of ﬁll was pushed up against andto be managed in the long term. There was therefore no need to

on to the sides of the remaining stonework of the ovens sometime

further disturb a site which was in a stable condition.

in the later 20th century based on random 20th century rubbish
mixed in with 19th century material.

From the archaeological investigation, it is apparent that the breadoven structure and the brick ovens themselves have not survived

The limited excavation showed that the rectangular oven structure

for two main reasons. Firstly, most of the stonework and bricks

was constructed of schist stone and some river worn boulders andwere probably plundered soon after abandonment of the building,measured 4 m in length and 3 m in width. The vertical height ofhence the lack of bricks found anywhere on the site during thestonework remaining measured from a maximum of 1.2 m highproject. Secondly, exposure of the oven structure to the weather

at the front wall of the oven down to 20 cm at the back of theover many years has caused collapse of any of the remaining

structure. On the interior back wall of the bakery where the actual

structure in on itself. That any remains of the oven are preserved

brick bread oven or ovens would have been accessed, the remains

today was unexpected and a positive outcome for the project.

of brickwork were found (Figure 9). Judging by the height of thisbrickwork and knowledge of other surviving 19th century breadLong Term Management of the Bendigo Bakery

ovens, such as at the Macetown gold mining site, Lauder farmstead

The Bendigo Bakery is now being managed as a stable heritage

in the Maniototo and the Princes St. ovens in Dunedin, it isruin (Figures 19 & 20). This entails monitoring of the building withpossible the original schist oven structure could have measured

an annual visit to check on movement of any stonework and to

ca. 1.6 m – 1.8 m in height. The original oven structure would

check and maintain the mortaring undertaken. During the three

Figure 3. Bendigo Bakery viewed from the back before the mound was investigated to determine
if any thing remained of the bread oven structure (photograph: Matthew Schmidt).

Figure 4. Another view of Bendigo Bakery from the back showing the left
side of the mound before it was investigated (photograph: Matthew Schmidt).

Figure 5. View of Bendigo Bakery from the back showing the right side of the mound before it was investigated (photograph: Shar Briden).

20

days of stabilisation and investigation, photographs were taken

New Zealandfrom eight angles around the building and over the walls. These
photographs will be used as reference points for the monitoring.
The oven structure has now ‘settled’ from the investigation and theweeds which have become established will be replaced by a grass
species appropriate to the environment to consolidate the ﬁne soil
on top of the remains.
Work still to be undertaken at the Bendigo Bakery includes
installing drainage to stop water pooling on the right and frontsides of the building, bollards to keep trafﬁc away from the walls,
and an interpretation panel explaining the history of the ruin.
Acknowledgements
This project would not have been possible without the Otago
Goldfields Heritage Trust who provided financial support forthe project and volunteered their time during the stabilisation
and archaeological investigation (Figure 21). Also crucial to theproject was the Central Otago Area Ofﬁce of the Department ofConservation, the Otago Polytechnic Stone Masonry Course in

Figure 6. Left wallof the bakery before
and after capping toprotect the wall from theaﬀects of the weather(photographs: Matthew
Schmidt).

Cromwell, stone mason Keith Hinds and the New Zealand Historic
Places Trust (Figure 21).

Figure 8. Re-pointing of the mortar and capping around the window sillon the front of the building (photograph: Matthew Schmidt).
Figure 7. Right wall of the bakery after capping (photograph: Matthew
Schmidt).

Figure 9. The inside back wall of the bakery with some of the loose
debris and soil removed prior to stabilisation of the wall and chimney(left of photograph). The brick bread oven(s) was originally accessed
between the left measuring pole and the red vertical line. The red arrow
indicates remnants of brickwork from the opening of the bread oven(s).
It appears that the opening to the oven(s) was about waist height as
below the red arrow the back wall is solid schist stonework (photograph:
Matthew Schmidt).

Figure 10. Inside back wall of the bakery after stabilisation. Schist has
been dry stacked against the right side of the chimney to prevent any
future movement of original stonework and along the front wall of ovenstructure. The large vertical schist slab used to stabilise the chimney
is a lintel found beneath where the oven(s) opening would have been
located in the back wall. The red arrow indicates remnants of brickworkfrom the opening of the bread oven(s) (photograph: Matthew Schmidt).

21

New Zealand
22

Figure 11. Stonemason Keith Hinds mortaring in schist slabs to stabilise the right sideof the chimney. Each slab introduced was recorded (photograph: Matthew Schmidt).

Figure 12. The left wall of the oven structure beginning to be revealed
during the investigation (photograph: Shar Briden).

Figure 13. Half of the left wall of the oven structure exposed during theinvestigation (photograph: Shar Briden).

Figure 14. The ﬁnal length of the left wall being excavated and the backwall excavation underway (photograph: Shar Briden).

Figure 15. Exposure of the left and back wall remnants of the ovenstructure completed (photograph: Matthew Schmidt).

Figure 16. Investigation of the right oven wall underway (photograph:
Shar Briden).

Figure 17. Stone and soil debris and the 19th century artefacts in the ﬁll (circled)pushed up against the right wall of the oven structure (photograph: Shar Briden).

Figure 18. Right oven wall completely exposed (photograph: Matthew
Schmidt).

New ZealandFigure 19. Oven structure two months after stabilisation. The site has settled and weeds have grown in the light soil. The weeds will be replaced bya hardy grass species which will aid in consolidating the surface. A possible shape of the original oven structure is indicated by the red dashed linein the top photograph (photographs: Matthew Schmidt).

Figure 20. Front/side views of bakery two months after stabilisation. Drainage around the front and sides of the building will be installed soon as
well as an interpretation panel and bollards to keep vehicles away from the structure (photographs: Matthew Schmidt).

Figure 21. People involved in the stabilisation project. Left photograph‒ From left: the author from the NZ Historic Places Trust, Mark Harrison of
the Department of Conservation, Martin Anderson - President of the Otago Goldﬁelds Heritage Trust, archaeologist and viticulturalist Joan Lawrence,
Roberta Laraman of the Otago Goldﬁelds Heritage Trust, archaeologist Shar Briden of the Department of Conservation.
Right photograph ‒ back row from left: Stonemason Keith Hinds, ﬁve stonemasonry students from the Otago Polytechnic stonemasonry course in
Cromwell, stonemasonry lecturer Steve Holmes from the Otago Polytechnic, Mark Harrison of the Department of Conservation; front row: Shar
Briden, Marion Sutton and Amanda Ware of the Department of Conservation and the author from the NZ Historic Places Trust.

23

Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea

The Preservation and Maintenance of the Yangit Female Initiation Ceremony inPapua New Guinea
Naomi Faik Simet, Dance Researcher
Institute of Papua New Guinea Studies
Male and female initiation ceremonies in Papua New Guinea

by women. Such research carried out on the role of women in(PNG) are ceremonies held to celebrate the achievements oftraditional societies is vital to understanding gender roles and the

young boys and girls into adolescence. Each of these ceremonies

relationships that exist between men and women.

differs among ethnic groups. In many parts of PNG, male initiation
ceremonies are common compared to female ceremonies. Male

Preliminary research on the kraku-bandi ceremony was carried

initiation ceremonies involving all kinds of body scariﬁcation areout by staff of the Institute of Papua New Guinea Studies (IPNGS)

a common feature of PNG traditional ceremonial and cultural life.

in October 2008. A more thorough study was undertaken this year

In the East Sepik Province and most particularly along the Sepik

to record and document the whole process of kraku-bandi female

River system, male initiation into the crocodile cult is a common

initiation ceremony. This work took approximately two months tofeature. This involves the ‘skin-cutting’ ceremony of young boys.

complete.

Young boys pass into manhood after such initiation rituals. In thiscontext, female initiation is unheard of. However, according to

The continuation and maintenance of such initiation ceremonies inoral history in the Burui Kunai Local Level Government area of

PNG is important in strengthening the marginalised role of women

the East Sepik province, initiation through skin-cutting ceremonies

in different PNG communities. In addition, such ceremonies are

was the domain of the women. Only recently this initiation

rarely performed today and the research and documentation

ceremony was taken over by the men. This event in Yangit village

conducted by the IPNGS was timely in preserving this rareof the Burui Kunai area reveals this practice as belonging to theceremony.

domain of the women. This is to say that women in this area are
still initiated through ‘skin-cutting’ ceremonies. This practice has
been maintained in this area, from the past until today.
The female initiation ceremony is undergone
by women who have experienced their first
menstruation. The ritual ceremony is preceded byan all-night ceremonial dancing. The ritual of skincutting is done in the morning; in an enclosure
outside of the menstrual house at the edge of thevillage. After the skin-cutting has been done, theyoung girls enter the menstrual house and remain
in seclusion until the day set for their emergenceback into normal life. The aim of the skin-cutting
ceremony is to release blood that belongs to theyoung girl’s mother and her relatives especially, hermother’s brothers. After this is done, the young girlis expected to make new blood for herself during
the seclusion period. This is symbolised through thepayment that is made by the young girl’s father andhis relatives to the initiate’s maternal relatives. The
new blood enables the young girl to be productive
for her role as a young woman who is now ready for
marriage and motherhood.
During the seclusion period the young girls were
taught the knowledge and skills needed for their
future roles as wives and mothers. They were taught
the techniques of child-birth and rearing, tradesystems involving the exchange of sago with ﬁsh (onlya woman’s activity), sacred knowledge maintaining
women’s power, etc. Men, on the other hand, also
practice male initiation ceremonies that are respected24

A female initiate showing scariﬁcation work done on her during the skin-cutting process

Papua New Guinea

The Gunge Takwaku dance associated with the female initiation ceremony; only women who under-went this ceremony are allowed to dance.

Yangit female initiates during the emergence ceremony

25

Singapore
Singapore

Engaging the Community: Marking of Heritage and Community Trails in Singapore
Faith Teh Eng Eng, Deputy Director (Collection Services)
Heritage Conservation Centre, National Heritage Board - Singapore
Acknowledgement: Contributions and inputs from Ms Thangamma

be popular amongst Singaporeans, young and old, and have been

Karthigesu, Director and Ms Soo Hui Wah, Deputy Director ofeffective tools to bring heritage alive for the people. In 2006, NHB

Education and Outreach Division, National Heritage Board

has also moved on to develop Community Trails, to focus on the(Singapore)

documentation and promotion of community history, especially

About National Heritage Board

general. The marking of Community Trails is an important initiative

The National Heritage Board (NHB) champions the development

spearheaded by the Education and Outreach (EDO) Divisionand promotion of a vibrant cultural and heritage sector inof NHB. To date, four Community Trails have been marked1.

Singapore. It makes heritage enriching, dynamic, relevant and

There are also 61 National Monuments which the Preservation ofaccessible to different audiences through staging innovative

Monuments Board is overseeing.

the heartlands of Singapore, besides covering Singapore’s history inprogrammes; using state-of-the-art technology; and forging
collaborative partnerships with both private and public sector

Unlike sites which are known for major political events likecounterparts. It also manages both national and public museums,

revolutions, wars or major watersheds in history, these Community

the National Archives of Singapore, and the Heritage Conservation

Trails may seem rather unimportant in comparison. Although

Centre. NHB was formed on 1 August 1993 as a statutory board

these community sites may seemingly not qualify the status ofunder the Ministry of Information, Communications and thebeing historically significant, they are important because these

Arts (MICA), with the merger of the National Archives, Nationalsites are places of common interaction, which gave birth toMuseum and Oral History Department of the Ministry ofcountless shared memories and history; elements so important

Information and the Arts.

for one’s identity and sense of belonging. People’s social history
and memories are part of the nation’s history, as they are closely

Today, NHB operates six museums with a record of 1.86

interlinked. Such engagement with the people and community has

million visitors in the first quarter of 2008. NHB also oversees

an essential role in our nation-building process, especially in a

the National Archives of Singapore, which also runs two World

multi-racial and cosmopolitan country like Singapore.

War II Interpretative Centres: Reflections at Bukit Chandu andMemories at Old Ford Factory; the Heritage Conservation Centre;

Hence, it is supported by government agencies like the Housing

and recently in April 2009, and the National Art Gallery, a new

Development Board (HDB), and the Community Development

museum of contemporary art which will be opening sometime

Council (CDC), as well as the grassroots, Citizen’s Consultativein 2014. NHB also took over the administration of three otherCommittee (CCC), residents, and schools. EDO works closely withheritage institutions which are community-based.

the community and these agencies document and research into
the stories and events that happened at the trail sites. Besides

Besides, the wide range of exhibitions and programmes offeredbuildings which are of architectural merit or historical signiﬁcance,by NHB museums for different target audiences to promote

the Community Trail also includes places which are social nodes

a museum-going culture, NHB is also active in organisingwhere the local community interact, or interesting places which are

educational and community outreach programmes to bringiconic or unique to the area, including eating places, local shops

heritage to the people. NHB’s programmes attracted participationand places of worship. This ‘ground-up’ approach encourages

and visitorship as high as four million during the ﬁrst quarter of

involvement, instills a sense of ownership and belonging to2008.

community as well as the nation. Oral history interviews werealso carried out with the older residents, and donation of artefacts

Marking of Heritage and Community Trails

and photographs were collected. The documentation that comes

One signiﬁcant roles of NHB has been marking Historic Sites andin the form of research information or oral history recordingsin the recent years, the marking of Community Trails which are

and collection, represented a shared history, fond memories andof socio-historical significance to Singapore. This is to remindcharacteristics or experience unique to that community. Feedback

Singaporeans of their history. Since 1999, NHB has embarked

from the residents on their proposed trail sites was also solicited.

on Heritage Trail projects either on its own, or in partnership26

with external agencies such as the Urban Redevelopment Board,

The main objectives of the Community Trail project are closely

National Parks Board, Singapore Tourism Board and the Landtied to nation-building. It reaches out to the descendents of theTransport Authority. To date, there are 86 Heritage Sites and two

old residents or the younger generation of Singaporeans whopermanently-marked Heritage Trails namely, the Civic District Trail

lived in the community, especially the Permanent Residents and(1999), Singapore River Trail (2005), which has specially-designed

the New Citizens of Singapore, as well as Singaporeans whostreet furniture and trail brochures. Heritage Trails have proven to

do not live in these areas. This project also aims to inculcate asense of identity, to promote social cohesion, racial harmony, andSingapore. Community and family bonding is promoted as people
gather and participate in activities to learn more about uniquenessSingaporeto heighten the sense of place and familiarity and rootedness toand the interesting stories of their community. Community Trails
also promote cultural tourism, as increasingly, tourists are interested
to visit the heartlands to get an authentic experience and better
understanding on the Singaporeans’ way of life.
There are two phases in the development of a Community Trail.
In the ﬁrst phase, NHB and relevant agencies such as CDCs put inplace the infrastructure for the Community Trails and the ofﬁcial
launch of the trail. This could include specially-designed street
furniture (trail markers or story board), trail brochures, websites, or
publications, depending on availability of funding and feasibility.
All the trails have brochures: Balestier and Jalan Besar Trails havestreet furniture and brochures, while Queenstown Trail has trail
brochure and a publication. To widen its reach and accessibility,
information of these trails is made available in NHB’s website. The
second phase looks at how NHB and relevant agencies work withthe community, especially schools and the grassroots to develop
programmes to encourage the residents and various interest groups
to walk these trails, to ensure their sustainability and community
ownership. Volunteer trail guides were also trained.
Since the launch of Community Trails, NHB’s Community Trails
have created much interest and buzz in schools, the communityand other agencies. Many have come forward to approach EDO/
NHB for advice either to develop their own trails, or to workwith NHB to develop new trails. In the next few years, with morecommunity trails marked and developed, Singaporeans as well as
tourists will be spoilt for choice for interesting places to exploreand discover right in their own backyards. There are indeed many
hidden gems and interesting nuggets of history in different parts ofSingapore, besides the familiar Civic District and Singapore River,or the ethnic enclaves, which Singaporeans can be proud of too.
—————————————————————————————
1

Balestier Trail, Jalan Besar Trail, Bukit Timah Trail,

Queenstown Trail

27

Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka

Conservation of Old Dutch Hospital Building, Galle Fort, Sri Lanka
Sujeeva Kaushalyani Peiris Deraniyagala, Conservation Supervisor
Central Cultural Fund
The Dutch Hospital is an elegant 17th century building located(laterite) and bricks. Doors and windows are glass and timber

between Akersloot and Aurora bastions inside historic Galle Fort,

while ground ﬂoor is cemented. Most of the upper ﬂoor is laida World Heritage Site in southern Sri Lanka. It is located borderingwith polished timber. There are timber door / window sashes,

the Hospital Street on the west and the rampart walls and Indian

hand rails, stair ways and grills elegantly detailed. Square masonry

Ocean on the east. There are less than ﬁve buildings within thecolumns formed the arches and complete the picture of dreamy

whole fort with architecture, setting and magnitude similar toarchitecture of the middle ages.

the building. During Portuguese occupation the ofﬁcial mint wassited here and the Dutch developed it into a hospital. The British

The Dutch Hospital building also had to undergo many changes

further developed the building adding to its length and anotherto meet the 21st century requirements which unfortunately

wing to east, making it their Courts Complex. After the Island

made negative impact on its historicity and architecture. Several

gained Independence, the building was used as the Divisional

institutions occupied the building after 1980 and they made some

Secretariat of the Southern Province of Sri Lanka.

devastating changes to its interior and neglected the exterior.
Toilets, electricity, plumbing, air conditioning and partitioning

28

Presently the building reveals mainly the English period

were the main requirements and in introducing these modern

developments with original Dutch constructions limited to theamenities building’s architecture was totally ignored. Half roundsouthern part. This two-storey building has long colonnaded

tile roof was laid with asbestos for easy maintenance. The longverandahs in both floors and the typical Dutch half round tileeave, which is a salient feature of Dutch architecture in Asia, wasroof was covered with asbestos after independence. The Building

shortened in order to remove the deteriorated members. When astands on a rubble foundation and its walls are mainly cabook*timber sash of a door or a window needs a repair, it was replacedIt is important to identify limits of conservation procedure as thiswas cement rendered. In some places toilets were added on top ofbuilding has combination of several additions and developments

the deck, which recently resulted in a disastrous situation.

made through considerable span of time. Pre- Independence
architectural ambience of the building is a mixture of Dutch

But the heaviest damage is caused by negligence and abandonment.

and English styles which has been combined to give pleasantInstitutions just happened to be there totally ignoring the historicalappearance. It is the post independence changes that counted forand architectural value of the building, mostly because they could

the present unacceptable appearance. Although building’s strong

not afford to maintain such large building while ﬁnding it difﬁcultarchitectural character, form and scale has been able to absorb andto survive themselves with their meager budgets. The 2004 Tsunami

hide most of these later additions from outside their toll is taken its

hit badly and heavy rampart walls of the Fort also washed away

interior character and appearance to a greater extent.

Sri Lanka

with a glass or simply sealed off. Timber deck on the upper ﬂoor

in some parts. Dutch Hospital building was also exposed to direct
lashes of huge waves that swept through the broken rampart walls.

One can identify three distinct construction phases:

Old plasters were washed away and those remaining were affectedwith efﬂorescence.

1.

South wing: This is the oldest part built in the Dutch period.
Coral stone was the major building material. This part has

East wing

Elevation to the Hospital Street

Abandonment and negligence in extreme!

29granite paved floors and thick plinth walls. The corridors

Sri Lanka

facing the hospital road were closed during the British periodusing a brick wall.

2. Floora. Ground ﬂoor – Although the best material would be dressed
granite slabs because of easy maintenance and resistance towear and tare, it is decided to cement render the ﬂoor as a

2. North wing: The building was extended along the same

rescue measure.

ground plan towards north during the British period. Bricks
were used as building materials and glazed windows glazed
fanlights introduced to this section.

b. Upper ﬂoor – Original timber decks are to be repaired byremoving the cement rendering.

3. East wing: This is extending towards the sea starting from the
middle of the building during late British period.

c. Stair ways – All three stair ways are worn out and needextensive repairs. Specially the one at the North wing hasworn off severely and this must be strengthened properly.

These separate constructions were cleverly executed that they

Deteriorated members must be replaced with matchingappear as one entity from outside. Most components of theones.

building, suffered effects of closeness to the sea, natural elements,
bad usage and negligence for a considerable time.

Even though

3. Wall plasters – These are heavily weathered and in somethe structure looks sound it could not be safely leave withoutparts missing. Growth of moss and fungi, trees and small

attention for no one could not guess the effects of time. Several

plants made further damage and contribute to the pathetic

research programmes to analyze the condition of the building

appearance of the building.

has been carried out in collaboration with the Department ofremoved and the whole building will be re-plastered with

Archaeology [excavation to determine details of foundations] andcompatible mixture. If the ancient plasters at the two corner

the University of Moratuwa [analysis of plaster samples to identify

rooms of the South wing could be strengthened with glue andthe mortar mixture].

keep it would be ideal.

CONSERVATION PROPOSAL

Detached plasters will be

4. Doors and windows – All doors and windows will be

1. Roof: In tropical regions, a roof plays a dual role; one isbrought back to their original design and they should be

giving its character and the other is protecting it from thecomplimentary in character. It is recommended to remove

natural elements. The original roof of the Old Dutch hospital

paint layers to expose the timber.

most probably was a gable one with half round tile cover.
There have been several changes to the roof during the British

When the World Monument Fund called project proposals forperiod and in the post independence period. Considering

tsunami affected historical buildings, President of ICOMOS Sriall these it is proposed to relay the roof with asbestos sheets

Lanka has submitted application of this monumental building

with covering tiles after extending the eaves to the original

to the WMF in 2006. Since the WMF was not in a position toposition.

foot the total conservation work, they have agreed to fund theSouth wing - the oldest part30

Masonry colimns of ground ﬂoor

documentation and rescue conservation with the assistanceﬁnally the deck gave way due to the weight of the concrete slab.

commenced with the grant which was about 1/10 of the total

Several institutions help the ICOMOS Sri Lanka to achieve theirbudget required for total conservation.

One major obstacle forgoal. When the rescue conservation completes in another three

the conservators is that they have to carry out the work while themonths the old Dutch Hospital building at Galle Fort will proudly

building is in use as the institutions are reluctant to move out.

stand out as a sentinel safeguarding the architecture of a by gone

Sri Lankaof American Express Bank. The rescue conservation workera.
Presently documentation of the building is completed and rescue
conservation is in progress through the ICOMOS Sri Lanka.

Photos and Drawings credits: Jayatissa Herath Associates

Another setback occurred during the conservation when a section[Consultant Architects for the rescue conservation]of the upper floor was collapsed and resulted in collapse ofcolumns on ground floor. A section of 40 feet long stretch wasNote: cabook* is earthen material used to construct buildings in thedamaged due to this collapse caused by haphazardly constructed

19th and 20th centuries. It is cut off from ground and naturally

toilet. This toilet was built on the timber deck and water seepage

hardened with exposure to the environment.

through a long period of time resulted in decay of timber andPartitions and broken timbers of upper ﬂoor

Deteriorated timbers of the stairways

Unsafe electrical wiring

31

Thailand
ThailandThailand's Cultural Heritage Protection Using GIS: Part II- Prediction of the Disaster Impact on Ancient Monument by GIS Wirayar Chamnanpol, Computer Technical Ofﬁcer
Ofﬁce of Archaeology, Fine Arts Department, Ministry of Culture
The Ofﬁce of Archaeology in collaboration with UNESCO Bangkok

Prediction of the Impact of Disaster on Ancient Monuments by GIS

and the Geo-Informatics and Space Technologies Development

The Office of Archaeology does not only use GIS to manage

Agency (GISTDA) successfully organized the GIS workshop

database, but also to predict the impact of disaster on ancienton “Cultural Management in Thailand and Lao PDR” for Thai

monuments such as flood, fault, landslide, sinkhole, creep,

staff of the Archaeology Office and those from Lao P.D.R. The

and bank erosion. Most disaster impacts in Thailand’s ancient

workshop focused on the application of GIS for cultural resourcemonument are caused by floods in monsoon season and geo/

management using case studies of Sukhothai World Heritage site

seismic hazards along three main faults: (1) the northeastern-of Thailand and Vat Phou World Heritage Site of Lao P.D.R.

southwestern; (2) the northwestern-southeastern; and (3) thenorth-south faults, which cover nearly a third of the country.

As a result, the Office of Archaeology developed the specific
GIS cultural properties database be used as a tool for spatial

The Ofﬁce of Archaeology has used GIS to analyze and study an

information. This data represents information in cultural properties

impact of disaster by identifying information and analysis method

layers and spatiality to its surrounding environment. This content

to use and examining how analysis results benefit the users.

can help understanding the problems, finding solutions and

For example, once ancient monuments in a higher-risk ﬂooding

making decisions for policies in cultural resources managementzone are identified, GIS database is used for mapping process

and providing GIS data services to the public.

and buffering river by considering flooding zone statistics. The
database will generate multiple outputs showing the sites in theflooding risk zones. In the case of an earthquake, even though
Thailand does not have suffered serious damage of earthquakes,

Figure 1: A map of risk cultural heritage (Registered ancient monument) and active faults in southern Thailand

32

Steps Forward

risk zone mapping will provide the necessary information to be

The Fine Arts Department realizes that conservation and protectionused for ancient monuments protection planning. Output mapsof national cultural heritage are also everyone’s responsibility, notcan be displayed in a digital or printed format. Output data canonly the Fine Arts Department. The Department, in fact, needs

be presented in tabulation or graph. Although an emphasis on

to also raise public awareness in cultural heritage protection and

Thailand’s GIS application is mainly for mapping purpose, theto provide the knowledge and information on national cultural

software is more ﬂexible to allow alternative display formats forheritage to the public and other institutes. In particular, knowledge

the outputs to suit users’ different needs.

and information sharing among people living in the ancientThailandactive faults should not be overlooked. Results of geo-hazards

areas can significantly build up positive perspectives towards
In Thailand, GIS is utilized in the field of cultural resources

cultural heritage protection in their communities. With GIS data,

data collection, organization, retrieval, maintenance andconsequently, the government can efﬁciently plan for sustainablecommunication. It can also store, manipulate, combine andinfrastructure development projects in the historical districts suchanalyze multiple and complex data sets such as Catchments

as water management in the areas near ancient city walls or moats;

Analysis and View Shed Analysis . GIS is also used to interpretinfrastructure construction not to ruin the scenery or not to affectthe relationships of sites to their social landscapes. Simulation, astructures of historical buildings; permitting for drilling rough areasmeans of testing hypothetical predictions and data generation, is,for state land use and town planning for development of historic

however, used to identify key variables and their interactions forareas; and land measurement and investigation with the Fine Arts

problem formulation.

Department and with the Treasury Department if the block issuperimposed on historic areas, city walls and moat boundaries.

Analyzing cultural heritage data with GIS can produce various
outputs: creating buffers, overlaying layers, selecting locations————————————————————————————

and attributes, exporting selected features, adding ﬁelds into an

1

attribute table and calculating attribute values. In the planningsurrounding the site.

phase, it is required users to decide what data is needed to meet2

the criteria, then assemble and prepare the data for analysis.

site.

Catchments Analysis is an analysis of the accessible regions
View Shed Analysis is a study of visible regions surrounding the

Figure 2: Maps of risk cultural heritage (registered ancient monument) and ﬂooding zones of the Chao Phraya and other rivers of Thailand

33

Viet Nam
Viet Nam

Binh Lam Tower : the Restoration and Conservation Issues
Nguyen Khanh Trung Kien, Laboratory Ofﬁcer
Center for Archaeological Studies, Southern Institute of Social Sciences
1. Introductio
Binh Lam is one of early dating Champa towers in Central

In this excavation, we found ninety pieces of stone statues andVietnam. It is located at Phuoc Hoa hamlet, Tuy Phuoc district,does belong to the early phase from the 10th to the 11th centuries.

Binh Dinh province. Henry Parmentier, a French scholar surveyed

Beside of the Go Sanh ceramics of Cham people, we also

this site in the 1900s and made a nice documentation about theunearthed Ming ceramics with 156 pieces of bowls, discs, etc. Ting

tower with highly detailed drawings.

ceramics were not so many here, just only seventeen pieces. Most

bas-reliefs from 1.20 m to 1.50 m deep in front of the tower. Itof ceramics presented here were popular products by the trading
The tower can be date back to approximately the early 11th

network between China and Champa in those days.

century, and classified to Chien Dan Style or transition styleart. Binh Lam Tower was built on a paddy field, not as other

3. Restoration and Conservation the Binh Lam tower
In the 2008 excavation, the foundations of Binh Lam tower wereChampa towers which were usually built on the top of hills.

exposed and after documentation here, the archaeologist filled

between My Son A1 and Binh Dinh Styles in the ancient Champa

up meshes, sand and soil to protect them from the environmental
The tower was composed of three parts: the base, the body, anddeterioration. How to restore and conserve this architecture was

the top. The main gate faced to the east. The base was built ofa difficult question for the conservators. Restoration work isbricks, with the length of 11.50 meters in the square shape. The

easier than conservation process. We could repair the damaged

upper body was built straight up with four columns each side. The

structure by comparative method with the originals, but we could

entrance gate was fallen down; three decoration gates were on

not maintain the repairing structure for a long time because of thethe other sides. The top of the tower looked like a miniaturizedharsh weather of coastal central Vietnam, especially in the rainbody of the tower. There were some cracks on the northernseason with many typhoons, heavy rain, ﬂood water and so on.

and western side walls of the tower. The decoration gate anddecorative items on the south side wall were in good condition.

The best thing we could do at present for Binh Lam towerseems to only repair the walls and the upper structure, but the

2. Excavation and the Artefacts
By the end of 2008, this site was excavated for the ﬁrst time to
study the foundation in order to prepare for the restoration projectin the near future. The archaeologists excavated the base, anunderground structure in front of the main gate, and studied therestoration process of Cham people in a few centuries ago.They
also found a block of broken bricks repaired by glue. It was theCham people’s repair measures for the damaged bricks caused by
the ﬂood in the past. The decorated foundations in the north andsouth side of tower also exposed. It was damaged and repairedby raising the height of foundation to prevent the flood water
immersion.

34

References

layers. For the public exhibition, we should use the 3D drawings

1. Excavation Report at Binh Lam tower (Binh Dinh Province,

after restoration to show the original foundation structure of theVietnam), 2009, Center for Archaeological Studies, Hochiminh

tower. Restoration and conservation of the original shape of Binh
Lam Tower is important and hard work but how to protect it fromnatural disasters is the most important project for us.

city.
2. Ngo Van Doanh, 2002. Champa culture, Van hoa dan toc
Publisher, Hanoi.

Statues of Binh Lam tower from 2008 excavation

Chinese ceramics at Binh Lam site

Viet Namfoundations underground will be protected better by ﬁlling up soil

A drawing by Dang Ngoc Kinh

Terra cotta artefacts at Binh Lam site

35

Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan

News from Uzbekistan on Cultural Heritage Preservation
Akmaljon Ulmasov, Researcher
Fine Arts Scientiﬁc Research Institute, Academy of Arts of Uzbekistan
1. The training of an archaeology master-class
Uzbekistan attracts not only tourists with its architectural

3D reconstruction of the building was executed based on

masterpieces, but also the specialists studying the antiquity,

Archeologists and museum staff worked together with CAD

especially in the archeological monuments from the Bronze Ageexperts. The advantages of using computer technologies were tothrough the Early Middle Ages and in artefacts which include thegive us a chance to correct its virtual image on the screen and to

artworks and the crafts of the ancient times. Archeological objects

unable us to try our hypothesis on the image while discussing theare considered to be the primary sources for understanding thepossibilities among researches. If it is introduced in the museum,cultural history, so it becomes more important to investigate andvisitors can not only see the external appearance but also see

preserve artefacts. In line with this, the training programme forinterior details of the building from different perspectives. The

human resources development, “The Master Class on Archaeology”

virtual reconstruction of architectural features can be effectively

has been held at the International Caravanseri of Cultures whichused in educational institutions for the study of lost objects.

archeological data and estimation obtained from excavations.

was founded by Ikuo Hirayama in Tashkent.
Possible areas for utilization of the virtual reconstruction are as
The training programme was carried out in cooperation withfollows:

Japanese experts as usual. The main objectives of this master class- for the field researches in planning works, in shortening of

were to exchange the experiences on preservation of historicallabor expenditure and at the further registration of the ﬁeldmonuments; to improve professional skills of specialists in theﬁeld of cultural heritage protection; to introduce new technologies
in the ﬁeld of restoration; and to propagate the basic restoration
techniques among students of high schools and colleges. At theend of the master-class, all participants are handed over certiﬁcatesdocumentations;- for preserving information on appearance of the archeologicalobjects;- in the occasion of decreasing human factor at carrying out
reconstruction of building or structure;of completion.

- for effective monitoring and facilitates historical and cultural

The master-class programme was conducted for three weeks in- for creating dynamical geo-information system for effective

examinations;
three stages:

management;- Theoretical: local scientists and experts delivered lectures in- museums visitors can have a visual representation on cultural

the ﬁeld of archeology: on the history of the Great Silk Road;

landscapes, on architectural traditions of indigenous people,

the diffusion process of Buddhism and its architecture inCentral Asia; and the art and culture of the ancient cities.
- Practical: Participants practiced measured drawings of artifacts

and it widens possibilities of the traditional museums;- for educational institutions, it will increase the learning
efﬁciency.

(stone objects, terracotta figures, pottery, etc.) by using thelatest tools and techniques provided by many other countries.

Note: 3D Measurement was designed by Angela PEREGRIMOVA,- Creative Work: Students made their creative works with theStudent of Master’s degree, Tashkent Architectural-Building

pottery wheel under the guidance of a young master-ceramist.
2. 3D Virtual reconstruction of the Main Hall of Buddhist temple in
Dalvarzin-tepa
Virtual reconstruction of ancient buildings is a useful means for

Institute
3. Restoration of fragmented wall painting from Dalverzintepa
Wall painting was one of the main decorations on ancientarchitectural constructions, which decorated both interiors andimagining their original appearances and for feeling their volume-

facades of temples, administrative-palace buildings, and noble

spatial compositions and aesthetic views. As a good illustration ofhouses. Unfortunately, they have been almost destroyed or

virtual reconstruction, we can take building complex at the Dt 25,

remained as in insigniﬁcant fragments. It is said that painting was

Buddhist temple in Dalvarzin-tepa .

usually put on clay and destroyed in due course by being exposedto the environment. For painting restorers, it is important toArcheological excavations of this complex have been conductedsafeguard them and pass down to the next generations. A young

from 1983 to the present. According to the research report,

expert, Sjuch Julia, restored the wall painting from Dalvarzintepa

the complex at the Dt-25 was located in the centre of the city,with the assistance of the author of this report, Restoration

where the route (width-18m) was crossed with a small street.

laboratory of Fine Arts Institute.

Reconstructing the architectural façade was much more difficult
because the premises adjoined to the main hall were badly

The fragmented wall painting, “the Priest and children” of the

managed. However, it is possible to virtually reconstruct its

second to the third centuries A.D. was found from Dalvarzintepa

original appearance of the main hall where sculptures of Buddha

in the 1980s. The fragments were unsuccessfully restored andand Bodhisattva were placed as well as the internal view of theconserved at that time, and they were considerably damaged

temple.

during transportation. In addition, adhesive polymers left on asurface, and the glossy layer was formed, and blackened strongly

With three-dimensional computer drawing devices, the36

by heat.

The following is the whole restoration process:————————————————————————————
1

Dalvarzin-tepa – the settlement site is located in the Surkhandarya

manufacturing, structure of paints, earlier restoration work,

river valley, on the bank of Karmakisai, in 120 km to the northand characteristics of damage.

from the Termez. Initially, the settlement was built in the southern- Joining fragments: Damaged parts were joined with adhesives.

part of the sand-and-loess plateau in the 3rd-2nd centuries B.C.

- Cleaning (1): Dirt on the surface was cleaned with distill

Researchers suppose that the fortress wall of the Greco-Bactrianwater.

Uzbekistan- The fragments were carefully studied: materials used for

period surrounded an already existing settlement with an irregular- Cleaning (2): Remaining glue used at the earlier restoration
was cleaned with toluene and acetone.
- Reinforcement (1): The back of fragment was strengthened byapplying plaster as a ﬁller where plaster layer was thin.

and dense layout (a polyhedron in a plan; 170-200 m across).
The destruction of the Greco-Bactrian settlement is associatedwith the invasion of Bactria by the Sakas (140-130 B. C). Its
revival began in the Early Kushan period. The settlement was- Reinforcement (2): The back of the fragment base wassurrounded with a fortress wall, which enclosed a rectangle withstrengthened by dense fabric (2 layers) and the fabric wasan area of 32.5 hectares, built with a view to the further growth

pasted to a surface by glue PVA.

of the settlement. New fortiﬁcations were built on the remnants- Cleaning (3): The plaster in cracks of the painted layer wascleaned.

of the Greco-Bactrian walls, used as a plat¬form. Since then theinitial settlement served as the citadel. Investigates considers- The paint layer was lined with papyrus paper and rice glue
(sticking paper) for protection.
- Finishing: The surface of plaster layer was leveled with aknife.

that Dalverzin to have been the crown capital of the Kushans
Khodzo mentioned in written sources.The ﬂourishing of the city
falls on the 2nd - the ﬁrst half of the 3rd centuries A. D. It had aregular layout, with clear-cut residential areas of rich and poor

- After removing a sticking paper, the rests of rice glue on thepaint layer was cleaned with distill water.
- Lastly, missing paints on the layer was restored.

townsmen. At that time the settlement had temples of different
religions. In the centre of the city stood a Buddhist temple, andnear the northern wall - a temple of a local goddess. A residential
neighborhood of potters occupied the south-western part of

It is necessary to remember that this restoration work of wall

the settlement. A Zoroastrian “naus” (catacomb) and a Buddhist

paintings was limited only to means available in our laboratory.

temple have survived in the northern part of the settlement.

However, to achieve more complex investigation in structure ofpainting materials, we need modern equipment and technologies,
and we hope that will be put in practice in the near future.

A map of Bactria in antiquity

Axonometric projection of Buddhist temple of Dalvalsintepa

A topographical plan of
Dalvarzintepa

A schematic plan of Buddhist temple

A section of room 3 (a central hall)37

Uzbekistan
In process of 3D reconstruction

A 3D section of room 3 (a central hall)

A view of DT-25 (GPS map)

A central hall view from east

3D reconstruction of DT-25

Before restoration

After restoration

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