Although there are only a few historical sources that address Singapore’s pre-colonial past, archaeology has helped to fill some of the gaps. Since 1984, archaeologists in Singapore have uncovered traces of pre-colonial Singapura or Temasek in the Singapore River and Fort Canning areas.
National Treasure1
Gold Earrings and Armlet
Gold | 14th century | Fort Canning Hill (Bukit Larangan) | National Museum of Singapore collection
This is a gold armlet found at Bukit Larangan, otherwise known as Fort Canning. It was discovered in 1928 a few meters away from Keramat Iskander Shah (believed to be the shrine of the last Malay king of Singapura) due to excavation works undertaken at Fort Canning for a new reservoir.2 The armlet bears a plaque of repoussé work depicting the Javanese kala. The kala motif is a protective symbol found at the entrance of Javanese temples dating from the 8th to 14th centuries.
The armlet also has flexible chains, some of which were already broken when it was discovered. The bands of the armlet can be fastened with a series of clasps, allowing one to easily wear or remove the armlet. While there were originally five bands, only one remains fully intact. A statue from West Sumatra made in the mid-14th century shows a king wearing the same kind of jewellery at his waist.3
The earrings each have a socket joint and wire hinge.4 Eleven objects were discovered in 1928. We do not know however the actual value of the ornaments found. At the end of his article, Winstedt appraises the hoard5, informing us that ‘the total intrinsic value of the gold is about $450’, without specifying the currency. As American dollars were used for gold prices in 1928, that value in 2023, adjusted for inflation, is over USD 7,600 for all eleven objects.
As Singapore possesses no natural geological deposits of gold, the pieces of jewellery likely arrived via trade routes, a testament to Singapore’s pre-colonial connections with the surrounding Southeast Asian region and its significance as a regional trading port by the early 14th century. It is possible that these pieces were brought by visiting traders or elites. Such ornaments would have served as visual indicators of social status or gifts as a means of forging valuable alliances.
In particular, the quality of the armlet suggests that it could have belonged to a member of royalty. More precise dating indicates that the hoard of jewellery likely dates to the mid-14th century, after Singapore was captured by the Javanese Hindu maritime empire, the Majapahit, in 1360 A.D. and came under its cultural and political ambit.
By the 14th century, the empire of Srivijaya had already declined, and Singapore was caught in the struggle between Siam (now Thailand) and the Java-based Majapahit Empire for control over the Malay Peninsula. According to the Malay Annals, Singapore was defeated in one Majapahit attack. The last king, Sultan Iskandar Shah ruled the island for several years, before being forced to Melaka where he founded the Sultanate of Malacca.6
Portuguese sources, however, indicated that Temasek was a Siamese vassal whose ruler was killed by Parameswara (thought to be the same person as Sultan Iskandar Shah) from Palembang, and Parameswara was then driven to Malacca, either by the Siamese or the Majapahit, where he founded the Malacca Sultanate.7
Modern archaeological evidence suggests that the settlement on Fort Canning was abandoned around this time, although a small trading settlement continued in Singapore for some time afterward. This illustration shows the outline of a 14th-century candi (temple) that might have existed on Fort Canning Hill. It is based on reliefs found in temples of the same period in eastern Java. The candi on Fort Canning Hill probably had brick foundations with wooden superstructures.8
History of Singapore
Singapore’s history is a journey from ancient settlement to modern metropolis. Initially known as Temasek, it was a 14th-century trading post, later falling under the influence of various empires. Sir Stamford Raffles established a British trading post in 1819, transforming the island into a thriving port. Post-World War II, Singapore gained self-governance and eventually independence, first as part of Malaysia and then as a sovereign nation in 1965.
The Singapore Treasures series focuses on the artefacts, relics and key monuments and moments that shaped this young nation. It is divided into four main parts.
- Pre-colonial before 1819
- British Colonial Rule (1819-1942), Japanese Occupation (1942-1945) and Post-War (1945-1955)
- Self government (1955-1963) and merger with Malaysia (1963-1965)
- Independence since 1965
Footnotes:
- The full list of national treasures is as follows: (1) The Singapore Stone (2)
a 1904 portrait of Sir Frank Athelstane Swettenham, the first Resident General
of the Federated Malay States, by John Singer Sargent; (3) the last will and
testament of Munshi Abdullah, the father of modern Malay literature; (4)
the mace of the City of Singapore (1953) that was presented by Chinese
philanthropist Loke Wan Tho in conjunction with King George VI granting
Singapore a Royal Charter in 1951, raising its status to a city; (5) an 1844
daguerreotype of the view from Fort Canning Hill by French customs service
officer Alphonse-Eugene Jules, one of the earliest photographic images of
Singapore; (6) fourteenth-century gold armlets and rings in East Javanese
style, found at Fort Canning Hill in 1928; (7) a 1939 portrait of Sir Shenton
Thomas, the last Governor of the Straits Settlements, by painter Xu Beihong;
(8) a collection of 477 natural history drawings of flora and fauna in Melaka
commissioned by Resident of Singapore William Farquhar in the 19th century;
(9) a wooden hearse used for the funeral of Chinese philanthropist
Tan Jiak Kim in 1917; (10) an early twentieth-century embroidered Chinese
coffin cover, one of the largest of its kind in existence in Singapore; and (11)
a glove puppet stage belonging to the Fujian puppet troupe, Xin Sai Le, which
came to Singapore in the 1930s. See: Wei Chean Lim, “Singapore’s Treasures”
in The Straits Times (31 January 2006).
These Gold Armlet and Earrings, now displayed at the National Museum of Singapore, was designated by the museum as one of 11 National Treasures of Singapore in January 2006, and by the National Heritage Board as one of the top 12 artefacts held in the collections of its museums. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Treasures_of_Singapore ↩︎ - https://www.roots.gov.sg/Collection-Landing/listing/1081573 ↩︎
- Museum Information Card, Aug 2025 ↩︎
- Museum Information Card, Aug 2025 ↩︎
- On the 7th of July 1928, while excavations were taking place at the summit of Fort Can-
ning Hill, a cache of gold ornaments was found. The find was published in a four-page ar-
ticle by the historian R.O. Winstedt (1928), and describes a total of eleven objects. The most
noteworthy was a unique pair of monster head armbands with flexible chains. The other
ornaments included six (or three pairs of) rings with ‘inferior diamonds of the Pontianak
type’, one elliptical ring with an ‘inferior pale ruby’ cabochon, a finger ring inscribed with
a goose, and a ‘jewelled joint or clasp’ (Fig. 1). Most of these were lost during the war, and
only one of the armbands and two of the six rings remain. https://www.iseas.edu.sg/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/TWPS06_Natalie-Ong-LR.pdf
↩︎ - “Singapore – Precolonial Era”. U.S. Library of Congress. Retrieved 18 June 2006. ↩︎
- John N. Miksic (2013). Singapore and the Silk Road of the Sea, 1300_1800. NUS Press. pp. 155–163. ISBN 978-9971-69-574-3. ↩︎
- Museum Information Card, Aug 2025 ↩︎
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