Construction workers ‘accidentally’ unearth centuries-old skeletons in the Philippines

Construction workers on an island in the Philippines stumbled upon human remains from a centuries-old burial site.

The workers were digging a drainage trench outside a cultural center in Daanbantayan when they “accidentally unearthed” human remains, the Municipality of Daanbantayan said in a news release.

Archaeologists who were called in to study the finds identified the spot as burial grounds dating back 600 to 800 years, city officials said.

Fragments of Chinese pottery and other artifacts were also found at the burial site, officials said. Photos show the damaged items.

A team of archaeologists, led by Jobers Reynes Bersales, took over the excavation and uncovered several more skeletons, officials said in a Thursday, March 2, news release. Photos show the well-preserved remains still partially buried in the trench.

The age of the burial was estimated based on the Chinese ceramics uncovered with the skeletons, city officials said, but they plan to use radiocarbon dating on the remains to confirm the time frame.

Archaeological excavations at the site are ongoing.

Daanbantayan is on the northern tip of Cebu Island. Cebu Island is around the center of the Philippines archipelago and about 355 miles southeast of Manila, the country’s capital.

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