In the Classified Section under Notices - a Land Transport Authority (LTA) - Notice of Exhumation caught my eye. The content informed that unidentified coffins were uncovered during an ongoing construction near Bukit Timah Road.
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| Notice of Exhumation - Unidentified Coffins near Bukit Timah (source: The Straits Times, 3 December 2025) |
Based on the location found, it is very likely the Christian Cemetery at Bukit Timah. This Christian Cemetery was opened for burials after the "Old Christian Cemetery" in Fort Canning was closed for burials. Using the NUS Historical Maps of Singapore reinforces my theory as you can see the overlay between today's map vs a map from 1932.
The site that the unidentified coffin was found is likely the location were LTA is digging for the North South Corridor, which is on the grounds of the former Kampong Java Park. (Refer to the red dot). While researching on burials at the Christian Cemetery at Bukit Timah, burial records existed from 1901 - 1938. The nugget i got from there was that burials were still being done after 1938. The latest entry in the file is found on page 76 where the individual was buried on 29/11/1961.
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| Overlay of today map and 1932 map to show the area was once a Christian Cemetery (source: Historical maps of Singapore) |
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| Christian Cemetery at Bukit Timah |
The Royal Airforce Aerial Photograph gives us an idea on how the Bukit Timah Christian Cemetery would have look like in the past before it was cleared. Visible on the bottom left is the PUB Bukit Timah Waterworks (written as Filter Beds).
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| Aerial Photograph of the Christian Cemetery at Bukit Timah - 1946 (source: National Archives Singapore |
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| Aerial Photograph of the Christian Cemetery at Bukit Timah (source: National Archives Singapore) |
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| Map of the Christian Cemetery at Bukit Timah (source: National Archives of Singapore) |
Further Research
The contents of file "Index of Burials at Old Christian Cemetery (Bukit Timah)" covering the period 1901-1938 is a list of names of individuals who were buried at the cemetery. The list contains the names of the deceased individual (either in full or surname followed by initials), the date of internment, the grave number, and a book page reference (source unknown). The list is arranged alphabetically - the first page containing names or surnames starting with A and the last page starting with Z. The names on each page are displayed chronologically, showing the earliest burial date at the top of the page and the latest burial date in the last page of the series
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