Excavation sites at Bukit Bunuh, Perak

“Sometimes you can’t see yourself clearly until you see yourself through the eyes of others...” - Ellen DeGeneres

 

(Boat rental to Bukit Bunuh just across the river)

We drove along the riverbank on a small village road to Bukit Bunuh-Kota Tampan using the routing given by google map. 

We stopped at a small jetty where we could rent a sampan to go to Bukit Bunuh. Bukit Bunuh is located on the other side of the Perak River bank. The hill has been impacted by a meteorite of about 1.83 million years ago based on the discovery of new rock evidence, namely suevite rock. The discovery of a hand-held axe in suevite rocks points to the existence of a Paleolithic culture that is more than 1.83 million years.

Bukit Bunuh excavation works were carried out between 2008 to 2010. There are five excavation plots measuring 2x2 meters. One of the plots holds evidence of stone tools aged 500,000 years. Among the most unique evidence is the discovery of metasedimentary rock, a type of rock that results from the impact of a meteorite.

(Driving along the river)

(Gua Bunuh is on the other side of the river)

Research at Bukit Bunuh has also found evidence of the destruction of early civilizations and cultures in the Paleolithic period due to meteorite impact. This shows that before the incident, Bukit Bunuh in Lenggong Valley was inhabited by ancient humans, but due to the impact of the meteorite, the civilization there was completely destroyed. Although no evidence of human skeletons was found but there were stone tools used by the early settlers such as hand-held axes attached to suevite stones proved that Bukit Bunuh was once inhabited by humans.

Before the impact of the meteorite, the Bukit Bunuh area was proven to be inhabited by ancient humans because there is an ancient lake that is three times the size of Lake Raban now. Human life could last from the supply of drinking water from the lakes, in addition to fish as a source of food.

(A small jetty for boat rentals)

(Bukit Bunuh is the site of a Meteor crash)