Prof. Liu Yi-chang, a researcher with Academia Sinica's Institute of History and Philology, who is manager of an excavation project at the elementary school, said that not only have two kinds of prehistoric archaeological sites been found on the campus -- labeled the "Chienshan Prehistoric Site" -- it has also been found that the site encompasses a vast area that reaches the parking lots outside the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport.

Liu and his team have been working on the site since late April under a contract with the Taoyuan county government after stone and pottery shards were unearthed by workers doing a campus renovation project.

Since then, Liu said, his team has begun excavating in four spots around the campus.

After hand-digging 60-80cm deep in these spots,the archaeologists unearthed more stone and pottery shards, Liu said, adding that through x-rays and computerized tomography scans, some of the unearthed pieces were identified as relics from the "Yuanshan Prehistoric Culture" circa 3,000-2,500 years ago, and some were identified as relics from the "Botanic Garden Prehistoric Culture," circa 2,500-2,000 years ago.

The artifacts and cultural layers of the Chienshan Prehistoric Site provide ample evidence of a prehistoric people who inhabited the Taoyuan area 2-3,000 years ago, Liu said.

Meanwhile, officials from the Taoyuan County Education Bureau said Wednesday that the Tayuan Elementary School's renovation project will go on based on the premise that the excavation work will not be affected and the prehistoric sites will be protected from damage.

In the future, school authorities said, the Tayuan Elementary School will be a window of the "Yuanshan Prehistoric Culture" and the "Botanic Garden Prehistoric Culture" and that students from all around Taoyuan County will be welcome to visit the school for field trips on archaeological learning.