Ubujan Metal Age Burials
To emphasize the significant turning points in Philippine History, the late President Benigno S. Aquino III declared the month of August of every year as “History Month”.
In line with this month-long observance, travel back in time as the National Museum Bohol features tangible cultural heritage bearing significance to the history of Bohol beginning with the Ubujan Metal Age Burials, discovered in Tagbilaran City.
The area, known locally as Cabisi, where the burials were discovered has played a significant role in the community through the centuries. This beach served as a harbor for trading ships called “balandras” up until the early 20th century. Many viajedors would set out to sea from Cabisi and return here after trading with communities in other Visayan Islands and Mindanao. Today, Cabisi still serves the community as a picnic site for families and as a harbor for the small fishing vessels of local fishermen.
In 1998, a burial site was discovered in a private property in Brgy. Ubujan. A coastal barangay, about 5 km north of the city center. According to the study by Andrea Yankowski, the archaeological site yielded 78 earthenware pots, 1,800 sherds (broken pottery), 130 glass beads, 31 iron tool fragments, 2 glass bracelet fragments, and a few shell and stone artifacts.
The site has been dated to the Metal Age (from around 500 BCE to 900 CE). According to Yankowski, the objects recovered from the archaeological site reveal Bohol’s active participation in regional maritime trade at the time.
One of the notable finds is this earthenware jarlet with holes on both sides. The holes would have allowed for a string to pass through and be used for hanging or as a handle.
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