Revisiting the Glass Collection of 14th Century Fort Canning (Singapore): The Application of Isotopic Analysis

YEE Lau Shin Cindy1*, WAKAKI Shigeyuki2, and TANIGUCHI Yoko1

The excavations at Fort Canning led by Prof. John N. Miksic from 1984 onward were pivotal in establishing archaeological evidence for 14th century ancient Temasek (Singapore), a key predecessor to Melaka and the beginning of the Malay sultanates. Among the excavated materials is a substantial glass assemblage, including glass beads likely originating from China, and glass fragments associated with South Asia. Although preliminary compositional studies have been conducted, fundamental questions remain regarding the primary production locations and supply chains of these glass artifacts. With recent methodological advancement, isotopic analysis has increasingly been used to reconstruct aspects of the glass chaîne opératoire linking geological sources of raw materials to finished glass products. This research proposes the use of isotopic approaches for a more in-depth investigation of the Fort Canning glass assemblage, with the aim of refining provenance interpretations and better characterizing trade connectivity between the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea. The study also seeks to contribute data to emerging comparative reference databases, supporting future archaeological and historical research on ancient glass circulation and technology in Southeast Asia.