Underwater Treasure May Point to Location of Long-Gone 'Island of Gold' Empire

The ancient empire was supposedly a “water world” where people lived on the river and whose “wooden houses, palaces, and temples all sank along with all their goods” during the demise of that civilisation.

The site of the fabled Srivijaya empire, which thrived centuries ago in Southeast Asia before vanishing from history in the 14th century, may have finally been found on the island of Sumatra, The Guardian reports.

According to the newspaper, fishermen performing night dives on the Musi River near the city of Palembang discovered several items, such as a life-sized 8th century Buddhist statue studded with precious gem or “jewels worthy of kings.” The finds apparently date back to the time of the empire that was known as the “Island of Gold.”

“In the last five years, extraordinary stuff has been coming up," said Dr. Sean Kingsley, a British maritime archaeologist. “Coins of all periods, gold and Buddhist statues, gems, all the kinds of things that you might read about in Sinbad the Sailor and think it was made up. It’s actually real."

Pointing at the aforementioned discoveries, Kingsley suggested that Srivijaya was a “water world” where denizens lived on the river like boat people, and whose “wooden houses, palaces and temples all sank along with all their goods” when their civilisation came to an end.

"For over 300 years the rulers of Srivijaya mastered the trade routes between the Middle East and imperial China," the archaeologist remarked. "Srivijaya became the international crossroads for the finest produce of the age. Its rulers accumulated legendary wealth."

The research on Srivijaya is reportedly expected to be featured in the the latest issue of Wreckwatch magazine edited by Kingsley.