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Archeologists hail Taitung find
SIGNIFICANT DISCOVERY:
The first of their kind to be found at a prehistoric site in Taitung, experts said the coffins date back to between 2,200 and 1,400 years ago
STAFF WRITER, WITH CNA
Tuesday, May 15, 2007, Page 4
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An archeologist stands next to one of five prehistoric stone coffins that were excavated at the Hsianglan prehistoric cultural site in Taitung County yesterday.
PHOTO: CNA
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Five stone coffins were unearthed yesterday at the Hsianglan prehistoric cultural site along the coast of Taimali Township (¤Ó³Â¨½) in Taitung. Archeologists described the find as a significant discovery.
The coffins, measuring 40cm, 50cm, 85cm, 90cm and 100cm in length, were found buried in a group, said Lee Kun-hsiu (§õ©[×), an assistant researcher at the National Museum of Prehistory.
He described the coffins as the first of their kind to be unearthed at the site, where archeologists have dug out 14 adult-size stone coffins and two small ones in two separate places since the ruins first came to light in 2003.
Judging from the size, Lee said that the smallest coffin might have contained a newborn baby. The other coffins might have been for children aged between two and five and the largest could have been for an adult woman, he said.
Lee, who is in charge of the excavation at the prehistoric ruins, said that the 85cm coffin was the most completely preserved.
Unlike the others, it contains a ceramic urn and is covered by nine stone plates, while the others have only three or five stone plates as covers and contain no urns.
Only one of the coffins, the second-largest one, contained human remains. A few skull bones and a molar tooth were found inside the coffin.
After analyzing the remains, Lee said that the occupant of the coffin had likely been a child aged two or three, while the ceramic urn suggested that it had high status in the tribe.
The coffins date back to between 2,200 and 1,400 years ago and prove the existence of villages where people buried their dead in one place, Lee said.
The ruins, which contain evidence of multiple cultures, cover an area of 20 hectares, are 8m below the beach and are situated less than 50m from the shore, leaving them at risk from big waves.
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