TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Tainan City’s Cultural Affairs Bureau reported that a large cache of metal weapons and equipment dating from the Qing dynasty (1644-1912) was recently unearthed in the city.

A heavily corroded mass of iron was discovered during excavations for an underground rail line south of Xiaodong Road, not far from Tainan Train Station. City authorities believe the weapons were transported from a nearby arms depot and buried for safekeeping near the city’s old North Gate sometime during the late 1800s, reported CNA.

The weapons were fused together for over a century due to oxidation and erosion. After analysis, the Cultural Affairs Bureau counted eight large cannons, 20 small cannons, 30 rifles, hundreds of cannon balls, over 2,000 bullets, dozens of sword blades along with several helmets and other pieces of armor.

City officials consulted a map of Taiwan printed in 1875 for reference and found the weapons were located near the original Great North Gate of the former capital in Tainan. It is speculated the cache was originally stored at a nearby arms depot built around 1874 at the site of the modern-day Banyan Garden, on the National Chung Kung University campus.

Qing forces may have hidden the weapons before they retreated from Taiwan in 1895. There may have also been earlier security concerns that prompted them to relocate the arms.

In a statement, Tainan Cultural Affairs Bureau Director Huang Ya-ling (黃雅玲) said the city’s urban development began much earlier than the Qing period, and the area is likely to yield more historic artifacts in the years ahead. 

For that reason, the city should ensure that sites slated for development are carefully surveyed by experts to preserve cultural assets, per CNA.