JAKARTA: Archaeologist Kandrian Attahiyat recalled his concern when construction of the second phase of Jakarta's underground rapid transit (MRT) network began in 2020.
The 5.8km railway will connect central Jakarta with the north of the Indonesian capital, passing through centuries-old areas of the city known as Batavia under Dutch rule.
"I was very worried. I think everyone in the archaeological community felt the same way," Attahiyat, head of the Jakarta Cultural Conservation Expert Group, told CNA.
A few months after the start of construction, the authorities' fears were confirmed. Builders began to uncover small historical artifacts made from potsherds and bullets from bygone eras.
Larger artifacts were uncovered during construction, according to conservation experts.
From mid-2021, workers XIX. They began to discover 19th-century tram tracks , old underground pipes, and 19th-century bridge foundations. The latest discovery was made last month when workers buried a total of 1.4 kilometers of tram tracks in six locations.
Heated debates about the fate of these objects soon began.
Several archaeologists, including Attahiyat, felt that these historic sites should remain in their original locations. However, MRT Jakarta claimed that unless these works were removed, it would be very difficult to start construction.
In the end, the train driver agreed to leave a few things that would not interfere with their work. Almost all old trams and underground terracotta pipes should be removed.
"MRT Jakarta is working with a team of archaeological experts to find ways to recover the finds," MRT Jakarta construction manager Silvia Halim told reporters last month.
Halim said the items are documented and carefully disassembled before being put into storage. MRT Jakarta has also promised to offer seating in future stations where some of these items will be on public display.
After much negotiation, members of the archaeological community have given up, at least for now.
But they remain concerned about the fate of many artifacts still buried in Jakarta's historic districts and may worry about the construction of a subway.
When CNA visited the MRT site in late November, most of the tram tracks and their wooden decks had been removed from the excavated asphalt road, leaving a layer of rain-soaked yellow dirt.
The only reminder that streetcars ran down one of the city's busiest streets until the 1960s were the tracks the tracks left behind.
At one end of the site were stacks of steel rails and stacks of wooden railroad tracks. For something that had been buried for decades, the tracks were mostly in good condition. Apart from some traces of oxidation, there were very few signs of degradation, cracking, warping or warping.
