Hidden treasures abound in neglected Bali museum

Hidden treasures abound in neglected Bali museum

By Putu Wirata

DENPASAR, Bali (JP): Gilimanuk Archeology Museum in Jembrana,
western Bali, is languishing. The seaside museum consists of a
two-story building where the collections are badly displayed.

Unlike other places of attraction on the tourist island, there
are hardly any tourists visiting the museum, which is run by the
Jembrana regency's tourism office.

The museum boasts a vast collection of items of invaluable
historical value. It has a collection of the remains of people
believed to have lived in Gilimanuk more than 2,000 years ago.
Excavation began in 1962 when RP Soejono from the Bali provincial
office of archeology discovered tools of prehistoric humans in
Cekik village, Gilimanuk.

The discovery led researchers to comb the coasts where they
subsequently found fragments of human and animal remains,
ceramics, bronze appliances and silver works. The fist excavation
project took place from 1963 through 1964.

The project discovered human tombs containing skeletal
remains, bronze equipment, kettles and strings of beads. From
1964 onward, the excavation has been conducted on a regular
basis.

To accommodate the findings, the museum was built in the
1980s. But the museum is poorly managed. Little information is
available. There is not a single brochure about the prehistoric
collections. The building is manned by a guard who lives near the
museum.

A Jembrana regency government official said he came to the
museum once a week to check on visitors.

"The museum is isolated so how could it attract visitors?" he
said with a bitter smile.

The collections are arranged unsystematically without proper
information. There is no way visitors can obtain a picture about
the Gilimanuk prehistoric humans.

A researcher, Verstappen, Gilimanuk artifact site consists of
five "ponds". Gilimanuk is sandwiched between the first and
second pond at four to five meters above sea level.

Archeologists theorize that civilization began in Gilimanuk
some 2000 years ago. Paleo-anthropological research shows that
the population consisted of a Mongoloid race which shared the
characteristics of Melanesian.

It is yet to be found why the people lived for only 200 years
in Gilimanuk. Scientists theorize that they might have been
killed or driven off by epidemic diseases.

Researchers have found that the people fell ill at the age of
between 20 and 30. The death rate has been thought to reach 30
per 100 stricken people.

The lethal diseases were those caused by an excessive deposit
of calcium in the kidney because they drank water from dug wells
contaminated with lime. Research also shows that many people also
suffered diseases affecting the lower jaw, skull deformation and
bone fracture.

Scientists also discovered skeletal remains of pigs, dogs,
birds, mice, fish and truncheons, suggesting that the animals
were an important part of the prehistoric people's life.

The several hectares of land around the museum is part of the
excavation project.

The human skeletal remains of the Gilimanuk humans can be of
great interest to international scientists. If the collections of
the museum are presented and promoted more professionally, they
are likely to attract visitors as well. However the locality of
the museum is a problem for its development. It lies in a remote
area and the building lacks architectural charm as a museum.

Gilimanuk is an important transit port for visitors who arrive
or depart from Bali through the Bali Strait. Buildings of the
40's stand out in the coastal town however, there is nothing to
suggest that Gilimanuk is rich in historical artifacts.