Kedah’s 1,200-year-old Buddha statue, unearthed

 

Believed to date back to the 7th or 8th century CE, this lifesize statue was found at the site of an ancient Buddhist temple in Bukit Choras. (Jabatan Warisan Negara pic)

PETALING JAYA: 

Last month, an extraordinary archaeological find grabbed national headlines: a lifesize Buddha statue discovered in Kedah, believed to predate even Angkor Wat.

Seated in a meditative position, the figure – estimated to date back to the 7th or 8th century CE – was found on the site of an ancient Buddhist temple in Bukit Choras dating back 1,200 years.

FMT Lifestyle uncovered the inside story behind this astonishing find from where it all began, at Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) in Penang.

Nasha Rodziadi Khaw, a senior lecturer at USM’s Global Archaeological Research Centre, began surveying the Bukit Choras site in 2017. But it was only in September last year that Phase 1 of the excavation began.

During the first phase, we discovered two statues. But they were incomplete; we only saw half of the body, and we didn’t see the head,

 Nasha recalled.

Archaeologist Nasha Rodziadi Khaw began surveying Bukit Choras in 2017. (Dinesh Pushparani @ FMT Lifestyle)

He and his team would learn that each section of the temple wall facing the cardinal points had a Buddha statue. Upon excavating the southern wall, they found one. Another was discovered when they excavated the western wall.

In April or May, we excavated the north wall, expecting to find a statue there. Even before digging, we knew,

 he said – but what they didn’t expect was this statue’s sheer size and remarkable state of preservation.

Day after day, working their way up from the feet, the team was amazed by each new part of the statue that was unearthed. And for them, the head was the pièce de résistance: 

The moments that led to its discovery were very thrilling, because we never expected to find it.

The head was found broken off from the body but, again, in remarkable condition, with highly detailed features.

The Buddha figure is made of stucco – a plaster mix of lime, water and sand. It’s not known for its longevity, which makes the statue’s ability to withstand the test of time even more impressive.

This intact and highly detailed Buddha head was an astonishing find for Nasha and his team. (Dinesh Pushparani @ FMT Lifestyle)

At 39, Nasha never expected to hit such a jackpot on the first excavation site of his career. And this wasn’t the only discovery by his team at Bukit Choras.

After we excavated the statue and dug further down near its chest, we found an inscribed stone, or ‘prasasti’, written in Pallava script in the Sanskrit language. This was a double surprise,

 he revealed.

These inscriptions contain text discussing the doctrine of emptiness, conditionality, and the attributes of the Buddha – evidence of an ancient civilisation that sheds some light on this country’s long history of multiculturalism.

According to Nasha, unlike Angkor or Majapahit, which had been ruled by a single king or empire, Kedah Tua had been a key destination and coastal settlement for various communities along Southeast Asia’s maritime trade routes.

Discovered alongside the statue’s chest were ancient inscriptions of Buddhist text. (Dinesh Pushparani @ FMT Lifestyle)

“The archaeological site at Bukit Choras shows architectural and artistic influences from foreign cultures, even though the structures were built using local materials and techniques.

This strengthens my view of the existence of a multiracial society in Kedah Tua,

 Nasha added.

Unity and harmony

At the department of national heritage in Kuala Lumpur, Zaharudin Abu, director of the archaeology division, shares Nasha’s views on the ancient civilisations of Kedah, comparing them to Melaka’s.

Melaka at that time had many foreign communities: not just Malays but also Indians, Chinese and others. Without harmony and tolerance, Melaka would not have advanced, and the same applies to Kedah,

 he told FMT Lifestyle.

Traders and other merchants stopped in Kedah and were able to build places of worship and spread Buddhism,

 Zaharudin added, noting that this unity and harmony is the most significant lesson to be learnt from the archaeological discovery.

Given that much of Bukit Choras has yet to be explored, time will tell what else experts will uncover. (Jabatan Warisan Negara pic)

As preservation efforts are in full swing, the statue may not be open for viewing to the public anytime soon. And with much of Bukit Choras remaining largely untouched, the heritage department hopes to have the Bujang Valley in Kedah recognised as a Unesco World Heritage Site in the future.

Given that Nasha and his team have only explored a fraction of the Bukit Choras site, one can only assume this won’t be the last Malaysians hear from them!

Learn more about the archaeology division at Jabatan Warisan Negara here.

Stay updated with the Centre For Global Archaeological Research at Universiti Sains Malaysia. - FMT