The items unearthed and documented, with the permission of the families of the deceased, are jade bangles of the Qing Dynasty era, stacks of paper money and remnants of courtly robes. Jade beads with insignias seen on hats like those worn by Qing Dynasty officials were also found, which suggests that many of the dead buried at the graveyard were officials in the Qing Dynasty. Explains Dr Hui Yew-Foong of the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, "Many of the Chinese elite here brought their official titles from the Qing government of the day and used these titles on their tombstones. So tombstones bearing such inscriptions were likely to have artefacts buried in the grave.
This finds are largely related to history, as the artefacts can help researchers piece together a social history of the Teochews here. The evidence suggests that the people in early Singapore lived together, and not as spread out like we are now.
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