Page 152 - Chinese and Asian Ceramics from an Indonesian Collection

Chapter 7. Summary and Conclusions

included Japara, situated close to Danau Ranau at the sites of Pusri (53%), Boom Baru (25%) and Batu Ampar
headwaters, which had a Hindu shrine (since removed) (13%). The others were from Sungai Rebo (7%), and PT
and Kayu Agung located midcourse some 10 kilometres Sharp and Sungai Sekanak (<2%). This confirmed that
from the current Martapura City, where a horde of 25 most fragile ceramics, food, wine and other non-durable
kilograms of Song Dynasty coins was collected in 2014. commodities shipped to Palembang were unloaded in
These coins led the Indonesian archaeologist, Retno front of ancient East Palembang, with a focus again on
Purwanti, to comment that the Komering River was a the Pusri site. Very few storage vessels were unloaded at
‘busy and major trade route’ at the time Sriwijaya was at the Sungai Rebo sites. This reinforced the suggestion that
the peak of its power (Edwards Mackinnon 1982, Jakarta the relatively high concentration of unglazed ceramics at
Post 27 October 2014). Sungai Rebo sites was because they were production or
Very recent archaeological research by the Indonesian redistribution centres. And this supports our speculation
staff of Balai Arkeologi Jogyakarta in Kecamatan Cengal and that ‘Lampung ware’ reached these sites from upstream
Kecamatan Air Sugihan support the importance of the along the Komering River.
Komering River to Sriwijaya commerce, and the role that
Kayu Agung may have played in such activities. It appeared
that Teluk Cengal in Kecamatan Tulung Selapan was an
early port for Sriwijaya, with goods from maritime trade
unloaded there from the 8th to the 10th century. (The
exact location and port infrastructure are not known, but
Desa Ulak Kedondong and the area about it is a place of
interest.) Goods found at the Teluk Cengal area included
Chinese ceramics, Arikamedu pottery from India and
beads and glass from Persia. Local pottery vessels were
also discovered at this ancient site as were a number of
ancient boats (Rangkuti 2017). The approach to Teluk
Cengal was by entering the bay at the southern end of
Bangka Island, as an alternative journey to travelling
to Palembang along the Musi River. Once trade goods
were unloaded at Teluk Cengal during Sriwijaya times,
they travelled up the Lumpur and Jeruju Rivers to their
upper watersheds, where significant population centres
existed close to Kayu Agung on the Komering River.
Probably goods then travelled down to Palembang via
the Komering River.
The yet to be excavated Candi Nikan, which lies 150
kilometres at the confluence of the Komering River with
the small Nikan River, has revealed bricks with carved
decorations and a heavy lotus-stand. Ceramic finds at that
location indicated it was active in ceramic trade along the
Komering River in the 13th and 14th centuries (Anon
2016). If that trade along the Komering River also involved
sending ‘Lampung ware’ (and non-timber forest products,
such as damar resin and rattan) to Palembang during the
period of the 9th to 14th century, and perhaps earlier,
then in addition to Kayu Agung, Japara and Candi Nikan
may also have been significant trading posts.
Most of the fragile ceramics, as well as food, wine
and other non-durable goods, which were exported
to Palembang in earlier times, were shipped carefully
loaded in ceramic storage vessels. A total of 72 such
vessels, both glazed and unglazed, were collected from
recorded sites in the Musi. Although their numbers
were too low to look at relative abundance within any
of their countries of origin, by far the majority of them
were from China (63%). Then, in decreasing order of
abundance, was Thailand (21%), Central Vietnam (10%),
and North Vietnam, Middle East Amphora (3%) and
Indonesia (1%). A total of 91% of these storage vessels
were recovered from the combined ‘East’ Palembang City

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