Archaeological studies conducted in Gua Pelangi, Negeri Sembilan have been able to find an early civilization aged between 14,000 to 9,000 thousand years ago which was used as a shelter from hot rain and wild animals, in addition to making stone tools and food preparation. The interpretation was based on the findings of 299 lithic artifacts, 52,929 faunal remains and evidence of burning such as ash, charcoal and burning sediments that are still in situ have been recorded. This site is also used as a workshop for the manufacture of stone tools with the presence of hammer stone, cores, anvil, flake, chopper and debitage. Analysis of the fauna remains found clearly shows that this community hunts and collects terrestrial, arboreal/semi-arboreal and aquatic/semi-aquatic vertebrate animals and mollusk shells. Based on the scientific evidence, ecotourism activities involving cave exploration, pioneering and jungle trekking, camping, limestone hill climbing, cooking demonstrations in the forest and visits to local community villages have been carried out. This shows that efforts to develop Gua Pelangi into a tourism product have begun and this is able to develop the economy of the local community in the area.
Archaeological research in the Kuala Muda district until 2022 has recorded three archaeological complexes that are still in-situ and can be visited by tourists. The archaeological evidence at Sungai Batu, Bukit Batu Pahat and Pengkalan Bujang Archaeological Complex which proves the existence of the Kedah Tua kingdom as the main trading location in the world. In order to obtain primary data, field research such as surveys, mapping and archaeological excavations are carried out to obtain in-situ data. The results of the study revealed that the Sungai Batu Archaeological Complex has been used as an iron smelting industrial area since 788 BC while the Bukit Batu Pahat and Pengkalan Bujang Archaeological Complexes have been used as a port and a Hindu-Buddhist complex since the 7th Century AD to the 13th Century AD. Based on the uniqueness of the archaeological data in the complex, as many as five tourism packages have been created to preserve this archaeological heritage tourism with the Sungai Batu Archaeological Complex (SBAC) has been made as a one stop center for the management of the tourism package.
In order to obtain primary data related to the iron smelting activities, the experimental process of furnaces, tuyere and air pumps making is carried out. The experiment has conducted since 2013 through the Knowledge Transfer Program (KTP) in Sungai Batu Archaeological Complex (SBAC). Through the experiment, the clay in this complex has been used as a raw material for furnaces and tuyere making while the bellows is made of wood, plywood and fabric. In order to complete the experiment regarding the raw material that use for iron smelting, iron ore was taken through survey activities in the area of Kampung Batu 5, UiTM Merbok and Bukit Tupah while charcoal was used from rubber wood in the rubber plantation near the Sungai Batu Archaeological Complex. After the experiment was conducted, the results recorded were different from the findings of the iron ingot excavation at the iron smelting site which is likely to occur due to the difference in technique and ratio of materials used during smelting activities. Although the results obtained during the experiment are different, the smelting process can be used as the main reference for offering tourism full packages related to the demonstration of iron smelting in this complex to foreign tourists.
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