Centuries-old wood boat retrieved in Pangasinan

ROSALES, Pangasinan – Thanks to a boy, residents of this eastern town of this province retrieved a “treasure” that will give pride here for its archaeological and historical significance.

An unfinished centuries-old dugout boat was found last week by residents in Barangay Casanicolasan this town along Lagasit River, about 500 meters away from the Agno River, the third largest river in Luzon and fifth biggest nationwide.

The boy saw it while swimming in the river and he hurriedly called local folks.

Curious men, about 30 of them, led by Ronaldo de los Reyes, tried to retrieve the artifact manually with the aid of two carabaos for three days but to no avail.

Then, they sought the help of Mayor Ricardo Revita who sent heavy equipment to lift it from the river and bring it to the town hall.

With the size of the wood and its kind, excluding its submersion in the river, Revita said one can see that it is hundreds of years old.

Revita said the relic looks like an unfinished banca.

He said this could not have been kolloong, an Ilocano material used for pounding rice by the people because of its large size.

Revita added the people were small then and could not pound rice using the big artifact.

He wrote a letter and sent someone to coordinate with the National Historical Institute and the National Museum to conduct carbon dating to determine its age and the kind of wood it was made of.

 It weighed more than five tons, measures eight meters long plus two meters wide in its front and back with a height of up to 1.5 meters.

It can load 10 carabaos at the same time, the mayor said.

 Revita said it could have been part of an unfinished dugout boat, a big banca.

Despite its heavy weight and size, Revita said this will float in the river or sea because of buoyancy.

He said the boat was testament that ancient people used to live then along river banks and the material was consistent with old stories that people used bancas as their means of transportation.