Rodney Artida
Deep inside the thick forest of Mulanay lies a unique ancient burial site of our ancestors.
The site, situated on a jungle-covered mountaintop of Mount Maclayao in Mulanay, Quezon province, is said to have 15 limestone coffins discovered in 2011.
The village could be at least 1,000 years old based on carbon dating tests carried out on a human tooth found in one of graves, according to National Museum official, Eusebio Dizon.
A preliminary National Museum report that “a complex archaeological site with both habitation and burial remains from the period of approximately 10th to the 14th century were found by top archeologists, the first of its kind in the Philippines having carved limestone tombs.”
The discovery of the rectangular tombs is of historical importance because it is the first indication that ancient Filipinos practised a more advanced burial ritual than experts previously thought. The discoveries also indicate that metal tools were used within the settlement to carve the coffins.
Shards of earthen jars, metal objects and bone fragments belonging to animals such as monkeys, wild pigs, humans and other animals in the tombs within the government-protected forest.
The Limestone Tombs of Kamhantik is located within the Buenavista Protected Landscape, declared as a government-protected area in 1998 to keep away treasure hunters and slash-and-burn farmers.
Young ECHO 
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