Pahang Tourism, Culture, Environment, Plantation and Commodity Committee chairman Mohd Sharkar Shamsudin said historical records showed that several steamships had operated in the area, among them the SS Amherst, which was reported to have sunk in Kuala Pahang, and the Seri Pahang, believed to have sunk in Paloh Hinai, Pekan.

“More than 100 fragments of wood were found which are believed to be part of the ship. A number of commercial ceramics the same age as the ship’s relics, comprising Chinese and European ceramics, were also found at the discovery site,” he said in a statement here today.

Sharkar said the National Heritage Department together with the Pahang State Museum Corporation and assisted by some villagers, had carried out the process of documenting, recording and preserving the artefacts over five days starting Jan 19.

He said the artefacts would be placed at the Lipis Heritage Museum under the care of the district office.

The shipwreck was found on the banks of Sungai Lipis, near Kampung Pagar on Jan 14 after the village was hit by floods on Jan 3.