Learn to work with archaeological artefacts at new heritage centre

Its goal is also to be a home for Singapore’s intangible cultural heritage practitioners

- Ng Keng Gene Correspondent

ArCH Square's centre manager Natalie Tan and assistant manager Zinnurain Nasir holding artefacts outside the centre's new space at 125 Jalan Sultan. The centre by HeritageSG, a subsidiary of the National Heritage Board, will open to the public in November. ST PHOTO: GIN TAY

(GIN TAY)

In 2015, 2.5 tonnes of Chinese ceramics, coins and other artefacts were unearthed in a 10-week-long archaeological dig in Empress Place.

A decade later, the majority of the finds have yet to be cleaned, analysed and documented. They sit in a secure facility at an undisclosed location in Singapore, waiting to be processed.

From December, members of the public will get a chance to chip away at this backlog — many of them sherds - at a new archaeology and intangible cultural heritage centre called ArCH Square. The centre by HeritageSG, a subsidiary of the National Heritage Board (NHB), will open to the public in November.

Ms Natalie Tan, ArCH Square’s centre manager, said its goal is two-pronged ~ to give the public more access to Singapore’s archaeology collections, and to be ahome for the country’s intangible cultural heritage practitioners.

Intangible cultural heritage refers to traditions or living expressions that are inherited and passed down through generations, such as the performing arts, social practices, rituals and festive events.

Currently, Singapore has two intangible cultural heritage elements inscribed on the Unesco Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity — the hawker culture and the kebaya, which was a joint nomination with Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand.

The Republic also submitted a joint nomination with Malaysia for the Chingay parade in March, the result of which is expected in end-2026 at the earliest.