The State Administration of Cultural Heritage released major discoveries in deep-sea archaeology and found ancient shipwrecks in the 1500,<>-meter depth of the South China Sea-China News Network video

On May 5, the State Administration of Cultural Heritage announced significant progress in deep-sea archaeology in Sanya, Hainan. On May 21, the State Administration of Cultural Heritage conducted the first underwater archaeological survey, using the "Deep Sea Warrior" manned submersible to set up a base point for permanent underwater surveying and mapping of the wreck in the southwest corner of the core accumulation area of the No. 5 wreck on the northwest slope of the South China Sea, and conducted search and investigation and image records, officially starting the archaeological investigation work.

According to reports, in January 2018, the Archaeological Research Center of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage and the Institute of Deep Sea Science and Engineering of the Chinese Academy of Sciences jointly established the "Joint Laboratory of Deep Sea Archaeology", and in April of that year, the first deep-sea archaeological survey was carried out in the waters of the North Reef of Xisha Island.

In August 2022, the second deep-sea archaeological survey was carried out in the Xisha Trough area in the northern South China Sea, and 8 shipwreck site and 2500 shipwrecks were newly discovered in the sea area at a depth of about 1,3 meters.

In October of the same year, two ancient shipwrecks were found in the northwest slope of the South China Sea at a depth of about 10,1500 meters.

One of them has multiple piles of cultural relics suspected to be separated by cabins, with a maximum height of more than 3 meters, mainly porcelain, scattered in an area of tens of thousands of square meters, and the number is estimated to exceed 1506,1521. According to the preliminary judgment of the cultural relics out of the water, it was named the Zhengde period of the Ming Dynasty (<>-<>), and it was named the shipwreck No. <> of the northwest slope of the South China Sea.

Another place found a large number of logs, similar in size and neatly stacked, most of them simply processed, and the preliminary judgment was that it was an ancient shipwreck loaded from overseas to China. According to the preliminary judgment of the cultural relics out of the water, it was named the shipwreck of the No. 1488 Lupo in the northwest of the South China Sea during the Hongzhi period of the Ming Dynasty (1505-<>).

With the approval of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, the Archaeological Research Center of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, the Institute of Deep Sea Science and Engineering of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the South China Sea Museum (Hainan) will strictly follow the underwater archaeology work regulations and implement the archaeological investigation of the No. 1 and No. 2 shipwreck sites in three stages in about one year. On the basis of the results of archaeological investigation, scientifically evaluate the preservation status and technical conditions of the wreck, and study and propose the next archaeological and site protection plan.

The first phase of the survey will be conducted from 5 May to early June. The 20th has carried out the first underwater archaeological survey, using the "Deep Sea Warrior" manned submersible, in the southwest corner of the core accumulation area of the No. 6 wreck, set up a permanent underwater mapping base point of the wreck, and conducted search and investigation and image records, officially starting the archaeological investigation. The first stage of investigation will be to find out the distribution range of cultural relics of the two shipwrecks through underwater search and investigation, carry out multi-angle and all-round data collection and archaeological records of the wrecks, and appropriately extract representative cultural relics specimens and scientific test samples such as seabed substrate.

The shipwrecks No. 1 and No. 2 on the northwest slope of the South China Sea are relatively well preserved, the number of cultural relics is huge, the era is relatively clear, and it has high historical, scientific and artistic value, which is not only a major discovery of deep-sea archaeology in China, but also a major archaeological discovery in the world. This major discovery verifies the historical facts of the development, utilization and travel of Chinese ancestors to and from the South China Sea, and has made breakthrough contributions to China's maritime history, ceramic history, overseas trade history, and the study of the Maritime Silk Road. This major discovery will fully demonstrate the bright prospects of cross-border integration and mutual promotion of China's deep-sea science and technology and underwater archaeology, marking that China's deep-sea archaeology is moving towards the world's advanced level. (Reporter Ying Ni produced by Liu Peng Video source: State Administration of Cultural Heritage)

Responsible Editor: [Luo Pan]