Discovering the Sunken City

Currently serving as a photographer on a historical trail expedition to Singkil Lama, Aceh, in December 2024. The expedition team is a cultural volunteer who is part of the non-profit organization Aceh and the Pedir-Museum.

The outboard motorboat continued to move along the Lae Soraya River or what is known as the Singkil River. The nipa forests on the left and right become barriers to the flow of water. A team had preceded us. Suddenly the boat captain changed speed and turned between the sparse palm trees that were like an entrance gate.

Inside such a narrow passage, it's time for the canoe captain to lift the engine and use the oar. We got lost in the palm forest.

Hooray, we have arrived at the planned point.

That day's mission was to trace the whereabouts of the sunken port city. Local residents have passed down stories about the fame of the lost city, known as Kota Singkil Lama.

We are guided by the community to get to the destination point. Arriving at the location believed to be the former sunken city, the team immediately plunged into the water and dived to the bottom to look for the evidence they needed. Found at the bottom of the water, in the form of Chinese ceramics, local pottery and other metal objects.

Apart from that, the team also found inscriptions made from andesite stone in Chinese, which they hope will provide clues through epigraphic texts. Local residents were very satisfied with the discovery of this object.

Late in the afternoon we returned to the accommodation in the new town of Singkil.

The objects found were then stored in the Singkil Regency Regional Government's Historical Objects Gallery. Next is the process of identification and scientific study.

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