RIZAL, Kalinga (PIA) -- The National Museum has declared the archaeological site at Sitio Greenhills, San Pedro in this town as a National Cultural Treasure.

The official marker was delivered by the National Museum to the local government unit of Rizal this week, just in time for the celebration of Heritage Month.

The National Museum has recognized the archaeological site for “outstanding historical, cultural, artistic and/or scientific value which is significant and important to the country and to the nation.” As such, the site shall be a protected place.

Excavation in Rizal started in 2014, and in 2018, the archeologists released the result of their excavations which yielded a 75 percent intact rhinoceros fossil bearing cut marks and percussion marks, and some 50 stone tools and other animal fossils. These archaeological findings were dated to 709,000 years old by several physico-chemical methods.

The archaeological excavations also uncovered various animal remains including the monitor lizard, the box turtle, the Philippine brown deer, the stegodon (a cousin of the elephant) and the rhinoceros, which has been extinct in the Philippines since at least 100,000 years ago.

Mayor Karl Bogao P. Baac said the municipal government and people of Rizal are honored on the declaration   its archaeological site as National Cultural Treasure, and vowed to protect the site. (JDP/LL-PIA CAR, Kalinga)