Kota Gelanggi

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Kota Gelanggi or Perbendaharaan Permata (Treasury of Jewels in Malay language) is an archaeological site that is believed to be the first capital of the Srivijaya empire dating back to 650. It's discovery was announced in February 2005. The ruins are believed to be as old as Borobudur and could pre-date Angkor Wat in Cambodia. The discovery of a temple known as Candi Bemban and several artefacts in the area have lead to the belief of the existence of a government before the Johor-Riau-Lingga sultanate.

The site is located in the dense jungles of the Malaysian state of Johor, somewhere within a 140 square kilometre site of a forest reserve in the area surrounding Sungai Madek and Sungai Lenggiu.

The discovery was made as a result of research on Malay manuscripts and local folklore. Reference to Kota Gelanggi can also be found in the Sejarah Melayu as a city of granite structures located at the head of the Johor River. Some scholars believe this to also be the Kingdom of Lo-Yue and the first centre of trade for Srivijaya. There is also suggestion that the city was later known as Ganggayu or Khlangkeo, which formed part of the Ayutthaya Kingdom. The city could also have been the unidentified 12th Naksat city.

The city was raided by the Chola conqueror Rajendra Chola I, of the South Indian Chola Dynasty in 1025.

On April 28th 2006 The Malaysian National News Service (Bernama) reported that the "lost city" of Gelanggi or Linggiu, claimed to have been hidden in the jungles of Johor for more than a thousand years, does not exist. This was stated by an archaeologist in the National Heritage Department.

Khalid Syed Ali, the curator of archaeology in the department's research and development division, said a team of researchers carried out a study over a month in July last year but found no evidence of the "lost city".

Note that this Kota Gelanggi is different from the Kota Gelanggi caves near Jerantut in Pahang.