GEOPHYSICAL APPLICATIONS IN MAPPING THE SUBSURFACE STRUCTURE OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE AT LEMBAH BUJANG, KEDAH, MALAYSIA
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Date
2011-09
Authors
MOHAMED SAPIAI, SARMIZA
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Abstract
Lembah Bujang is one of Peninsular Malaysia's most important areas for
archaeology as excavations in this area have revealed many traces of Malaysia's
protohistory. The site is one of the oldest known place human civilization activities
in the Peninsula. The aim of this study is to map and understand the subsurface
structure of the survey area which is one of the archaeologically interesting areas.
The specific areas of study are Sungai Batu and Sungai Bujang. Geophysical
methods are used because it is non-destructive and non-invasive. The methods are
relatively quick and the results are used as a guide for subsequent excavation work.
So it can greatly helped in setting the digging priorities as geophysical surveying can
reveal, for instance, important subsurface features like monuments, tunnels or buried
walls. The geophysical methods used in this study were the magnetic gradiometer, 2-
D electrical resistivity and ground penetrating radar (GPR) methods. The integration
of these three methods can be beneficial as each method has its strength' and
limitation. Sungai Batu site results show that the sedimentation consists of sandy
clay, alluvium and boulders with a depth of 0 - 15 m, which could be related to the
base of the monument built of bricks made from laterite or granite. The
sedimentation also proof that Sungai Batu was an ancient river. Sungai Bujang area
divided into three subsurface layers. The top layer was the colluviums mix with some
sand and gravels. Second layer was conductive layer (marine alluvium) with depth
1.5 - 3 m. The third layer was clayey sand. Excavation work at Sungai Batu has
successfully exposed remarkable archaeological findings which are iron smelting site
and monument structure.
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GEOPHYSICAL APPLICATIONS IN MAPPING THE SUBSURFACE