Calatagan, Municipality in Batangas, Philippines
Calatagan is a municipality on a peninsula between the South China Sea and Balayan Bay, featuring white sand beaches and coastal resorts along its shoreline. The landscape is shaped by its coastal position with settlements scattered along the water's edge.
Domingo Roxas purchased the land from the Spanish Crown in 1829 and established a large agricultural estate that lasted through the 19th century. The area became an independent municipality in 1912.
Ancient pottery and a rare pre-Spanish Baybayin script discovered on a burial jar reveal how this place was part of a larger trading world centuries ago. The excavation sites show evidence of these old connections through objects people left behind.
The area lies around 130 kilometers from Manila and about 70 kilometers from Batangas City, reached by buses, jeepneys, and local tricycles. The driest months offer the best conditions for visiting, and roads to beaches and resorts vary in condition.
Six ancient cemetery sites contain Chinese pottery discoveries that reveal extensive maritime trade routes centered around the Balong-Bato location. These findings show commercial activity reaching back centuries before colonial times.
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