Analysis of gold artefacts from the Kota Cina site, near Medan, Sumatra (with appendices). A. Manning, E
Ann Manning, E. Edwards McKinnon, and the late F.E. Treloar published this study in 1980, presenting the first scientific analysis of gold fragments recovered from the Kota Cina archaeological site near Medan, northeastern Sumatra, a cosmopolitan entrepôt active from the twelfth to the mid-fourteenth century. The article argues that gold was both manufactured and traded at Kota Cina, that the metal was derived from alluvial sources in the Bukit Barisan hinterland, and that Chinese craftsmen participated in the local gold trade during the Sung-Yuan period.
Summary
The article serves a dual purpose: it provides a general introduction to the Kota Cina site and its place in the medieval maritime trade network of the Strait of Malacca, and it reports the results of atomic absorption and specific gravity analyses of eight gold fragments recovered from two excavation locations. McKinnon’s nearly two years of weekend fieldwork in 1971–1972 had identified the site as a major node in Srivijayan-era commerce, and the presence of imported Chinese ceramics, coins, jade, Buddha statues of the Cola school, Sri Lankan coins, and Persian Gulf ceramics attests to its cosmopolitan character. The gold fragments themselves were found in two contexts: at Location 1, a dwelling area with post holes and domestic debris, and at Location 3, a brick complex comprising a roughly square structure (12.5 × 12.5 m), a smaller rectangular building, and a truncated pyramidal hollow shell that the authors interpret as a possible shrine or stupa where the gold may have been deposited as a votive offering (pp. 105–106).
The analytical section, drafted by Treloar before his sudden death in February 1980, employed two complementary methods: atomic absorption spectroscopy (destructive, using ~3 mg samples dissolved in aqua regia) and the Archimedes specific gravity method (non-destructive, suitable for the near-binary alloys present). The results consistently show very low copper content (all below 1%), which the authors interpret as diagnostic of alluvial gold rather than deliberately alloyed metal. Most samples yield total metal percentages near 100%, suggesting the alluvial gold had been refined by smelting to remove silica inclusions. One exception, sample 5S, shows an 18% unaccounted mass with a specific gravity consistent with lead, though no definitive conclusion is drawn without further analysis (pp. 111–112).
A particularly significant find is sample 1, a piece of gold foil stamped with two Chinese characters, one of which means “gold” (金). The authors argue this implies the foil was prepared or at least assayed by Chinese craftsmen, raising important questions about the scale of Chinese participation in the Southeast Asian gold trade during the twelfth to fourteenth centuries and the existence of overseas Chinese settlements at this earlier period (p. 107). They draw a parallel with the Santubong site in Borneo, where Chinese and Indian influences mingled with indigenous activity, and suggest a similar pattern of cultural convergence at Kota Cina.
Key Findings
- Eight gold fragments were analysed; gold content ranged from 69% (sample 4F, foil) to 98.8% (sample 5R, ring scrap), with silver as the principal alloying metal in most cases (p. 111, Table 1).
- Sample 5R (ring scrap, 2.7281 g) yielded 98.8% gold, 0.99% silver, and 0.09% copper by atomic absorption, and 98.7% gold by specific gravity—the closest agreement between the two methods (p. 111).
- Sample 1 (gold foil, 0.2026 g) bore two impressed Chinese characters, one meaning “gold,” and was excavated at 1.00 m depth near the brick shrine complex at Location 3 (p. 114, Appendix 1).
- The brick complex at Location 3 comprised a 12.5 × 12.5 m square structure, a 14 × 6.8 m rectangular building, and a truncated pyramidal hollow shell, all built without lime or mortar; gold fragments and a crushed bead were recovered at the base of the shell (p. 105).
- Marsden recorded 1,200 gold mining operations in the Minangkabau area alone in the late eighteenth century and estimated annual production of 10,000–12,000 ounces at Padang, of which about half was carried to the eastern side of Sumatra (p. 109).
- The site is situated at 3°46′ N, 98°44′ E, approximately six kilometres southwest of the modern port of Belawan Deli, on silted-up estuarine land north of the Sungei Deli (p. 102).
Conclusion
The authors conclude that the Kota Cina gold artifacts were fashioned from alluvial gold with no deliberate addition of copper, and that their high purity—particularly in samples excavated near the possible temple site—points to ritual or sacred use that demanded pure gold. They draw a direct comparison with the sacred gold deposit from the Bongkisam shrine in Sarawak, similarly made of unalloyed alluvial gold, to support the interpretation that ritual context, rather than smithing inexperience, explains the absence of hardening alloys (p. 113).
Context
- The study draws on fieldwork conducted by McKinnon at Kota Cina during 1971–1976 and laboratory analysis at the University of Melbourne Department of Physical Chemistry; it represents one of the earliest applications of atomic absorption spectroscopy to Southeast Asian archaeological gold.
- Historiographically, the article challenges the prevailing view (articulated by Harrison and O’Connor) that Sumatra was “not rich in gold” compared to Borneo, arguing instead that transinsular portages from the Bukit Barisan hinterland made the east coast a viable export route and that Kota Cina was one of many small but important entrepôts funneling Sumatran natural resources into international commerce (pp. 108–110).