Environment Minister Varawut Silpa-archa yesterday rushed to Samut Sakhon where an almost perfectly preserved whale skeleton thought to be at least 3,000 years old has been discovered.
In a Facebook post, the minister said he visited tambon Am Pang in Ban Phaeo district after the discovery was reported to him by a company which owns the land where the whale skeleton was unearthed.
The exploration and digging work were performed by experts from the Department of Mineral Resources, the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources and various agencies with permission from the landowner.
The skeleton, however, was not wholly fossilised and still very brittle, according to the minister.
The team first began digging the site on Nov 9 and the work lasted for six days. A second operation got underway on Nov 23 and 80% of the skeleton has now been recovered, he said.
The skeleton's head alone is estimated to be about 3 metres in length.
The remains, found 12 kilometres from shore as they were, lends weight to the theory the province used to be underseas thousands of years ago, according to Mr Varawut.
At a nearby site, the exploratory team also discovered some carcasses of aquatic animals, such as the teeth of sharks and rays, shells and sea crabs.
Samples were gathered and sent for analysis to estimate their age. Results are expected back from the laboratory in about a month.