PLACES OF INTEREST IN TAWAU >  Bukit Tengkorak Archaeological Heritage Site

SELAMAT DATANG KE
TAPAK WARISAN ARKEOLOGI BUKIT TENGKORAK, SEMPORNA, SABAH
WELCOME TO BUKIT TENGKORAK ARCHAEOLOGICAL HERITAGE SITE, SEMPORNA, SABAH

Skull Hill
Bukit Tengkorak Archaeological Heritage Site

BUKIT TENGKORAK ARCHAEOLOGICAL HERITAGE SITE

TAPAK WARISAN ARKEOLOGI BUKIT TENGKORAK
10 minutes drive away from Semporna town
 

In the 9th Malaysia Plan, 60 monuments and historical sites to be upgraded to attract more tourists.
Among these sites are Fort Alice in Sarawak and Bukit Tengkorak in Sabah

Bukit Tengkorak Archaeological Heritage Site
This site reveals evidence of people traveling between New Britain, Melanesia near Papua New Guinea and Borneo Island 3,000 years ago.
Volcanic glass used to make tools have been found here that can be traced toTalasea in New Britain, 3500
kilometers away.
Archaeologists believe long-distance sea trade and migration between Southeast Asia and the Pacific left behind what is known as the Lapita culture of pottery, tools and ornaments.
It was one of the longest trade routes in the world during the Neolithic period.

Photo above : Panorama of Semporna Town and the islands from an elevation of 500 feet.
The location has an open archeological site and a museum building.
Lots of pottery, shell-middens, and other items in some small caves and rock-shelters on a pretty volcanic dome.
The plank walks and covered shelters make it a great picnic spot.
Skull Hill Archaeological Museum Heritage opened to the public in mid-July 2011
Museum's exhibits are in collaboration with Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) and Department of National Heritage.
Skull Hill Archaeological Museum Heritage is Among the most IMPORTANT Archaeological sites in Malaysia.
Hill skull has been identified as one of the largest pottery manufacturing sites in Southeast Asia in the Neolithic era that is about 3,000 years ago.
The results of such research found hundreds of thousands of pieces of prehistoric pottery decorated with intricate patterns.
Projects worth RM4.2 million that includes the construction of Building Heritage Gallery, home of researchers, officials, public toilets, information boards and the observers platform.
Besides seeing valuable historical treasures, visitors to the Skulls Hill can also see the beautiful waters of Sipadan Island at an altitude of about 152 meters (500 feet) above sea level.
Bukit Tengkorak was a major pottery making site in Southeast Asia between 4340 BC and 50 BC.

Under the 9MP it is to be promoted as a major tourism site. It will be one of more than 60 monuments and historical sites to be upgraded to attract more tourists. Other sites earmarked for special attention are Kota Kuala Muda in Kedah.and Fort Alice in Sarawak.

The site is just 10 minutes drive away from Semporna town and any reasonably fit visitor can trek to the viewing platform within 30 minutes.

A significant archaeological discovery since independence.
An open site archaeological museum.
Archaeological research done between 1994 and 1995 by Universiti Sains Malaysia in co-operation with the Sabah Museum, uncovered pottery shards in layers of ash, which are probably remnants of open kilns used for firing pottery.

Excavations also found clay for making pottery which may have originated from large deposits of the material at the foothills.

Research also points at cultural contact and trade between 4300 BC and 50 BC involving people living at Bukit Tengkorak with other prehistoric communities along the southeastern coast of Sabah, Sulu Archipelago, Palawan, southern Mindanao, Sulawasi and the chain of islands between Papua New Guinea and Melanesia.

The site has a wooden staircase and railings on the upper part of the forested area leading to the cave system. An information centre at the top of Bukit Tengkorak, 183 meters above sea level.

RELATED TOPICS

Tawau Travel Guide