Earthenware

It can be fired as low as 600 °C, and is normally fired below 1200°C. It has had a continuous history from the Neolithic period to today. It is the roughest material with many pores. When lightly tapped, it produces a low pitch. A general body formulation for contemporary earthenware is 25% kaolin, 25% ball clay, 35% quartz and 15% feldspar.

Stoneware

It can be fired from 1,100°C to 1,200 °C. Stoneware originated in China as early as 1400 bce (Shang dynasty). A fine white stoneware, Yue ware, produced during the Han dynasty (206 bce–220 ce) and perfected during the Tang dynasty (618–907 ce), has an olive or brownish green feldspathic glaze and belongs to the celadon family.

Porcelain

It can be fired from 1,200°C and 1,400 °C. The toughness, strength, and translucence of porcelain, relative to other types of pottery, arises mainly from vitrification and the formation of the mineral mullite within the body at these high temperatures. It dates all the Shang dynasty (1600–1046 BC). It is the smoothest material with the least pores and will most likely be glazed. It produces a high pitch when tapped lightly.

The open air excavation site that we were brought to is located between the Keramat Iskandar Shah, where an ancient ruler of Singapura is believed to be buried, and the Old Christian Cemetery, now known as Fort Canning Green. There are three soil layers that we observed. At the top layer or Layer 1 are the remnants of the foundation of a lighthouse keepers’ house built around 1900. Below that at Layer 2 were artefacts from the 19th and 20th century. Layer 3, with yellowish soil, contained artefacts from the 15th and 14th centuries.

In National museum, we visited the Singapore History Gallery where it contain artifacts dating all the way back to 1299 to the present. One interesting artifact was the Singapore Stone. The large slab, which is believed to date back to at least the 13th century and possibly as early as the 10th or 11th century, has an undecipherable inscription. Recent theories suggest that the inscription is either in old Javanese or in Sanskrit, which suggested a possibility that the island was an extension of the Majapahit civilization in the past.

Located within the historic colonial district, the Supreme Court and the City Hall are built upon the ancient 14th settlement of Temasek. Eleven test units were excavated, revealing pockets of information from the 14th century city, as well as artifacts from the Second World War. Over 300kg of artifacts from the Temasek period were recovered from the salvage excavation.

The Victoria Concert Hall is located on the northern bank of the Singapore River, and sits within the commercial heart of modern and colonial Singapore, as well as the ancient settlement of 14th century Temasek. he team excavated a segment of the construction impact zone along Old Parliament Lane, recovering some 600kg of artifacts that would have otherwise been lost to the bulldozers.

In an effort to discover and preserve Singapore's rich history and heritage of the Bras Basah area, an archaeological survey of SMU's future City Campus site was conducted in 2001. Many archaeological artifacts have been found at Fort Canning and other sites in the city, providing evidence of settlements by the island natives. One interesting find was white, sticky clay found under layers of soil, indicating that there is a possibility of a kiln that could have existed in ancient Singapore.

The ACM contained many artifacts found from the Belitung Shipwreck, found in 1998 the edge of the Java Sea. It contained a remarkable cargo of more than 60,000 ceramics produced in China during the Tang dynasty, as well as luxurious objects of gold and silver. Bound for Iran and Iraq, the ship provides early proof for strong commercial links between China, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East.