A high-resolution LiDAR survey conducted in the dense rainforests of southern Sumatra has revealed a previously unknown fortified urban center. The digital mapping shows a series of concentric earthen ramparts and a complex canal system that linked the inland city to the main maritime trade routes of the Srivijaya Empire.
Preliminary ground surveys at the site identified stone foundations for large warehouses, suggesting this city served as a primary collection point for the spice trade. The city's location allowed it to control the flow of valuable resins and forest products from the interior to the coast, providing a new understanding of the empire's territorial control and economic reach into the Indonesian highlands.