- Details about an undersea site reportedly containing
ancient city walls more than 10,000 years old will soon be unveiled as
the government announced its support for an exploratory project yesterday.
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- Huang Yung-chuan, deputy director of the National Museum
of History, announced the project in a press conference.
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- The site, located between Hsichi island and Tungchi island,
which belong to Penghu County, has attracted the attention of a group of
experienced divers since August because of local legend regarding an undersea
temple.
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- "After numerous attempts, we finally discovered
the stone walls at the northeast side of Tungchi island at the end of September,"
said Steve Shieh, chairman of the Chinese Dolphin Diving Club.
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- "These stone walls are on average 1m high and 50cm
wide. They are about 100m long. Our water sonar date revealed there are
about five such stone walls at the site," said Shieh.
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- The Public Television Service Foundation (PTSF) deployed
a team to the archeological site to shoot film of the walls.
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- "When I was examining the stone walls, I found heaps
of coral pieces and pebbles at the leeward sides of the walls. These could
hardly be natural accumulations," said Ke Chin-yuan, an editor from
PTSF.
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- Huang said the accumulation of coral pieces and pebbles
is only one piece of evidence proving the stone walls may have been built
by humans.
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- "The walls are very straight and only 50cm wide.
It is extremely rare for natural forces to form such straight and thin
walls," Huang said.
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- Huang said these walls could even have been built about
10,000 years ago.
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- Tian Wen-miin, associated professor from the National
Sun Yat-sen University's department of marine environment, presented three
sonar graphs in the press conference.
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- "These sonar graphs show the seabed around the site
is very even. However, at near the stone walls there are many regular protrusions
that look like alleys, staircases, walls and stages," Tian said.
- T
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