TAIPEI (TVBS News) — The Changhua District Prosecutor's Office revealed on Wednesday (Sept. 27) that human remains discovered during an athletic field renovation in Changhua County were from the Qing Dynasty — about 221 years old.
The bones, including a jawbone and teeth found at a construction site at Tianwei Junior High School in November last year, had no signs of artificial fibers or casket debris.
The Prosecutor's Office asked the Institute of Forensic Medicine, Ministry of Justice, to conduct DNA testing to determine if the remains were related to a criminal case.
The human DNA detected was minimal, indicating significant decomposition or disintegration of the corpse.
To confirm the age of the bones, they were then sent to the Accelerator Mass Spectrometry Lab of the National Taiwan University's Department of Geosciences, the only institution in Taiwan qualified to determine the age of human skeletal remains.
Testing concluded that the remains dated back to the 7th year of the Jiaqing Emperor's reign during the Qing Dynasty (1802), adding a historical twist to the initial criminal investigation.