bone and stone rfs

Lumang Simbahan!
Bombon Ruins, Sta. Teresita
BOMBON RUINS, STA. TERESITA
Lumang Simbahan
ARCHEOLOGICAL SEQUENCE
Initial analysis reveals that the tuff was mainly exposed in the area and
people were building structures even before the construction of the
chapel/fort complex. This was deduced from the holes in the tuff,
possibly from insertion of stilts upon which houses stood.
The building of the main Church area and most of the walls in the
complex were just laid on top of the tuff without further reinforcements.
At some point after the first construction episode, the church was
extended to include a larger entrance and possible baptistry. The
courtyard was extended and a new water system added to the
complex.
The church complex was abandoned possibly due to a strong
earthquake that damaged the structure.
Deposition of sediments
followed.
More walls crumbled during the 1748 and 1754 eruptions and the now
roofless structure was covered with scoria. After that the entire complex
was covered with vegetation.
In the early 20th century, the area was transformed into a cemetery but
burials stopped and re-continued 50 years later.
TAAL LAKE CONSERVATION CENTER
Sitio Lipute, Bgy Kinalaglagan, Balete, Batangas
Information from a brochure of the
Bone and Stone exhibit undertaken by
PMAF, Inc, UP ASP, National Museum
and KAPI.
Lumang Simbahan!
Bombon Ruins, Sta. Teresita
Invaluable
finds
illuminating
the lake’s
archeological
history and
Batangas
cultural
heritage.
The complex was more likely the remains of a
religious complex than a military fort. Precise
location of the site is not disclosed in the interest
of conservation and until protection measures are
in place.
Lumang Simbahan!
Bombon Ruins, Sta. Teresita
Rising water levels of the lake during rainy
season can submerge these ruins for longer
periods as they are already very near the
shore.
BURIALS
Type to enter text
Glossary: tuff - a light, porous rock formed by consolidation of volcanic ash; agas -- remains associated
with an abortion; basaltic - of basalt, a dark, fine-grained volcanic rock that sometimes displays a
columnar structure. It is typically composed largely of plagioclase with pyroxene and olivine. andesitic a dark, fine-grained, brown or grayish volcanic rock that is intermediate in composition between rhyolite
and basalt.
For the entire investigation, only one
burial of human remains that may
associated with a pre-20th century
culture was found. Human teeth and
b o n e f r a g m e n t s w e re re c o v e re d
associated with earthenware pottery,
possibly as a second burial practice.
Several burials from the 20th century
were recorded - 11 adults, 8 sub-adults
and more than a dozen agas. These
may be grouped into two time periods
-- 1910-1950 and late 20th century
(1950 to present).
The basis for
knowing that there were recent burials
was that the graves were all cut into
the rubble of the complex and that the
remains of the clothing had plastic
buttons instead of bone and shell from
the earlier half of the 20th century.
There is a good chance that the earlier
burials are associated with a cholera
epidemic that hit the coastal towns of
Taal in 1910. All skeleton uncovered
were recorded and detailed digital
images taken before reburial.
Lumang Simbahan!
BONE AND STONE
For more than four centuries, stone ruins sat
quietly in the dimness of the vegetation at
Sta. Teresita, just 20 meters from the shores
of Taal Lake. Locals believe these are the
remnants of an old Spanish church buried
by soil and volcanic ash when Taal Volcano
erupted in the 16th century. Many refer to it
as the Lumang Simbahan ng Bauan”,
Lumang Bayan” and Lumang Bayan ng
Bauan”. Not much date or evidence about
the structure and its former inhabitants were
ever recorded until research teams
conducted an extensive study of the site in
April 2003.
When archeologists first visited the site in
2002, the massive stonewalls were choked
in vines and roots of a giant Balite snaking
through cracks and crevices. Many portions
of the walls lay pulverized on the damp
ground. There is an underground chamber
that is actually located on the roof of a
Bombon Ruins, Sta. Teresita
building.
The rest of the building was
buried. Dr Eusebio Dizon from the National
Museum found structural features of rooms
including a probable gunpowder room for
ammunition. The building does not fall into
the architectural pattern and features of a
church. He also believes there may have
been a community adjacent to the building
until it was abandoned.
The main feature of the complex is the
remains of a church, evident from the
uncovered fragments of the altar.
The
remains of the alter’s decor in the form of
two sets of symmetrical faux pillars were
observed. The remains of the pillars flank a
hole at the center of the remaining facade,
with an associated dressed stone next to it.
It may be surmised that a cross was once
here. When reconstructed in the mind, the
alter resembles that of the Caysasay alter in
present day Taal.
The shape of the
suspected church is rectangular, the altar
part of the room is rounded and large
windows in the standing south wall.
Accounts of locals informed that a holy
water container and a statue of a saint were
located but unscrupulous individuals looking
for treasures took these materials out of the
ruins.
Geologists observed the existence of scoria
deposits in the stratigraphic profiles of the
site.
Scoria is a vascular mass of lava
formed by the rapid cooling of gas-rich
basaltic or andesitic materials. This scoria
was attributed to the 1748 and 1754
eruptions. The layer of debris or silt deposit
in almost all the rooms and enclosed areas
under the scoria means the entire structure
was abandoned even before these eruptions
and it either had no more roof or a roof
ridden with holes. There was no evidence of
destruction by fire as there was no
concentration or layers of charcoal.