A wooden coffin believed to be nearly 5,000 years old has been unearthed at an archaeological site in the Tainan Science-based Industrial Park in southern Taiwan, a local archaeologist said yesterday.
"We discovered the grave at a site reserved for construction of a public facility in the science park on Monday," said Chu Cheng-yi (朱正宜), a research fellow with the Institute of History and Philology of Academia Sinica -- Taiwan's highest academic body.
Chu, who has been conducting a field study at the science park since 1995, said it was the first time his archaeological team had discovered a grave with a wooden coffin in the area.
In the past, the team has found stone sarcophagi, but nothing like these wooden coffins.
The team unearthed two wooden coffin slabs, Chu said.
"Each of them was 40cm long and 10cm wide," he explained. "They are made of hardwood and are dark brown in color. We need further examination to determine the exact type of wood," he said.
Also unearthed in the grave were more than 20 cord-marked pots and many pottery shards.
Archaelogists also discovered the skeletons of a man and a woman, both of whom were in their 20s when they died, Chu went on.
"This is also the first time that we have discovered the remains of a couple buried together in a single grave in the region," Chu told reporters.
Over the past six years, Chu's team has unearthed more than 370 human skeletons and a large quantity of pots and shards at nine archaeological sites in the Tainan science park, which is still under construction.
The newly discovered grave was found beneath the ninth archaeological site, known as the Nankuanli East cultural relic.
According to Chu, his team last month also excavated a grave containing 20 human skeletons, two complete dog skeletons, 140 rubbish pits, as well as many grains and shells at the site.
"All of the skeletons and artifacts were buried at a depth of between 0.5m and 1m in an area spanning 1,500m2 ," Chu said.
He added that the relics belong to the Tapenkeng culture which dates back 5,000 years.
Construction at the Tainan science park will shift into high gear next year.
Chu said his team must step up its work to rescue as many cultural relics in the region as possible before they are covered by concrete for the construction of the site.
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
Tropical Storm Fung-Wong would likely strengthen into a typhoon later today as it continues moving westward across the Pacific before heading in Taiwan’s direction next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 8am, Fung-Wong was about 2,190km east-southeast of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving westward at 25kph and possibly accelerating to 31kph, CWA data showed. The tropical storm is currently over waters east of the Philippines and still far from Taiwan, CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said, adding that it could likely strengthen into a typhoon later in the day. It is forecast to reach the South China Sea
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing
WEATHER Typhoon forming: CWA A tropical depression is expected to form into a typhoon as early as today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, adding that the storm’s path remains uncertain. Before the weekend, it would move toward the Philippines, the agency said. Some time around Monday next week, it might reach a turning point, either veering north toward waters east of Taiwan or continuing westward across the Philippines, the CWA said. Meanwhile, the eye of Typhoon Kalmaegi was 1,310km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, as of 2am yesterday, it said. The storm is forecast to move through central
RSS