The Urban Redevelopment Authority invited archaeologists to conduct an excavation in the compound of a pair of conserved shophouses in Kampong Gelam. The two terraces, nos. 45 and 47 Sultan Gate were in a state of disrepair, and were restored as a representation of Singapore’s ‘Early Shophouse’ style. The excavation limited itself to the impact zone where a drainage ditch was constructed around the two buildings. Some 378 kg of artifacts were recovered including Dutch East India Company coins and tokens minted by local merchants to substitute the lack of an official currency in the early 1820s. Postholes showing the spatial layout of early timber and thatch structures were also discovered.