Ming Dynasty shipwreck found for the first time in the 1500,<>-meter deep sea China's underwater archaeological achievements show the "Belt and Road" civilizational exchanges and mutual learning

Beijing, 10 Oct (Zhongxin Net) -- The State Administration of Cultural Heritage held a press conference in Beijing on 19 October to introduce important discoveries and progress in the field of underwater archaeology in the major project of "Archaeological China", and reported three important archaeological achievements: the No. 19 and No. 3 shipwreck sites of the northwest slope of the South China Sea, the shipwreck site of the Yuan Dynasty in Shengjiyu in Zhangzhou, and the shipwreck site of Jiawu in Weihai.

Shipwreck sites No. 1500 and No. <> on the northwest slope of the South China Sea: Ming Dynasty shipwreck sites discovered for the first time in the deep sea at a depth of <>,<> meters

Three-dimensional map of the core area of the No. 1 shipwreck site in the northwest slope of the South China Sea. Photo courtesy of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage

The shipwreck sites No. 1500 and No. 2023 on the northwest slope of the South China Sea are the first Ming Dynasty shipwreck sites found in China at a depth of 5 meters. From May to June and from September to October 6, 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) confirmed the distribution range and relics distribution of the two wrecks through a combination of marine physical exploration and underwater investigation of manned submersibles, and carried out three-dimensional photographic stitching and laser scanning of the two wrecks, and achieved fruitful results.

The shipwreck site of No. 1438 landslide in the northwest of the South China Sea is located in a depth of about 37 meters, the core area of the shipwreck is the hull and a large number of pottery, porcelain, iron and other shipborne items, about 11 meters long and 10 meters wide, 3 compartments can be seen, stacked up to 540 meters, so far more than 1506 pieces (sets) of water pottery, blue and flower, green glaze, green and white glaze, white glaze, red and green color, enamel, monochrome glaze, plain three colors and other utensils have been extracted, the wreck age is roughly during the Ming Zhengde period (1521-1527 AD), and the cargo is mainly Jingdezhen kiln porcelain, It is speculated that it was a private merchant ship departing from Fujian or Guangdong to a trade transit point such as Malacca. The site of the No. 21 shipwreck in the northwest of the South China Sea is located at a depth of about 8,30 meters, and a large number of neatly arranged and orderly stacked logs have been found, about 1488 meters long from north to south and about 1505 meters wide from east to west. At present, more than <> relics such as water logs, porcelain, pottery, salamander shells, antlers and other relics have been extracted, and the wreck date is roughly from the Hongzhi period of the Ming Dynasty (<>-<> AD), presumably from Malacca and other trade transit stations, carrying ebony and other goods, returning to China.

Orthophoto image of the core area of the No. 2 shipwreck site in the northwest slope of the South China Sea. Photo courtesy of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage

Song Jianzhong, a research librarian of the Archaeological Research Center of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, said that the shipwreck sites of No. 1 and No. 2 in the northwest slope of the South China Sea are relatively well preserved, the number of cultural relics is huge, and the age is relatively clear, which is not only a major discovery of China's deep-sea archaeology, but also a world-class major archaeological discovery, and an important witness of China's ancient maritime Silk Road trade exchanges and cultural exchanges. 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 fully demonstrates the bright prospect 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 has reached the world's advanced level.

Zhangzhou Holy Grail Island Yuan Dynasty shipwreck site: an important achievement of the archaeology of the Maritime Silk Road

The Yuan Dynasty shipwreck site of Zhangzhou Holy Grail Island is located in the sea area of Shengrail Island on the east side of Gulei Peninsula in Gulei Port Economic Development Zone, Zhangzhou City, Fujian Province. With the approval of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, from 2022 to 2023, the Archaeological Research Center of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, the Fujian Archaeological Research Institute, and the Zhangzhou Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism conducted underwater archaeological excavations at the site.

Porcelain stacked in the cabin of the Yuan Dynasty shipwreck site of the Holy Grail Island in Zhangzhou. Photo courtesy of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage

The water depth of the wreck site is about 30 meters, and the main area has a wooden hull and stacks of cargo stacks, covering an area of about 300 square meters. Archaeological excavations found that the remnants of the shipwreck hull were about 16.95 meters long, about 4.5 meters were preserved at the widest point, 9 compartment plates and 10 cabins remained, single-layer plate structure, and hull components such as mast, keel plate, keel reinforcement and rudder keel were found. About 1,7 specimens of water cultural relics were excavated, mainly Longquan celadon and clay pots, plumb hammers, seals and other cultural relics related to ship life and navigation. Among them, the number of Longquan celadon has reached more than 1,6, including bowls, plates, dishes, lamps, washes, reinscense burners and goblets, etc., which are dated to the late Yuan Dynasty and are typical export trade porcelain. Combined with the archaeological findings of Wenzhou's Shuomen Ancient Port, it is speculated that the wreck may have been a civilian trading merchant ship that sailed from Wenzhou Port to Southeast Asia.

Crews conduct underwater mapping at the site of the Yuan Dynasty shipwreck in Zhangzhou. Photo courtesy of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage

Chen Hao, deputy research librarian of Fujian Institute of Archaeology, said that the archaeological excavation of the Shengjiyu shipwreck site in Zhangzhou has achieved refined underwater archaeology excavation under low visibility through scientific and technological innovation and equipment improvement, which has greatly improved the technical level of underwater archaeological excavation in China. The discovery of shipwrecks, cargo and cultural relics related to life and navigation on ships is of great value for in-depth study of the maritime history, shipbuilding history and life on board in the Yuan Dynasty. The Grail Island shipwreck reproduces the export of Longquan celadon in the late Yuan Dynasty and the prosperity of the Maritime Silk Road, which is an important achievement of China's maritime Silk Road archaeology in recent years.

Weihai Jiawu Shipwreck Site: Filling the gap in the underwater archaeological work of large-scale modern shipwrecks

The Archaeological Research Center of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, together with cultural and museum units in Shandong and Liaoning provinces, has continued to carry out underwater archaeological work on the Sino-Japanese shipwreck since 2014, and identified the four ships Zhiyuan, Jingyuan, Chaoyong and Yangwei in the main theater of the Sino-Japanese naval battle in the northern Yellow Sea. Since 2017, the Archaeological Research Center of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, the Shandong Underwater Archaeology Research Center and other units have successively discovered the three ships Dingyuan, Jingyuan and Laiyuan near the former Beiyang Naval Base in Weihaiwan, through underwater archaeological investigation combined with shipbuilding archives and war archives, and achieved important gains.

A silver-plated soup spoon engraved with "Laiyuan" in the water at the site of the Weihai Jiawu shipwreck. Photo courtesy of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage

The water depth of the Jiawu shipwreck site in Weiwan Bay is 6-10 meters, the site distribution area ranges from 850-2100 square meters, buried under the sea mud 0.5-3 meters, no complete ship hull has been found, and the only remaining relics are scattered and distributed. The water relics excavated include hull components, crew items, weapons and ammunition, etc., and the position of the bow, amidship and stern of the original hull can be judged by combining the species of the remains. Among them, the Dingyuan ship found and successfully extracted a protective iron deck weighing 18.7 tons in the bow main gun area; the Jingyuan ship found two boxes of intact 2mm Haqikaisi shells in the amidships, and one 37mm main gun flowering shell in the bow; The Laiyuan ship found a silver spoon engraved with "Laiyuan" and two wooden plaques with the name of the sailor "Laiyuan".

The identity tag of the sailor from far out of the water at the site of the Weihai Jiawu shipwreck. Photo courtesy of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage

Zhou Chunshui, a research librarian of the Archaeological Research Center of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, said that the archaeological work of the Jia Wu shipwreck series has explored and summarized a set of practical and feasible modern and modern shipwreck archaeology and protection work methods, filling the gap of modern and modern shipwreck underwater archaeology in Chinese waters. A series of underwater archaeological achievements have played an important role in promoting the research of the Sino-Japanese War and the protection of the original site of the shipwreck site, and also provided vivid physical teaching materials for patriotic education.

Guan Qiang, deputy director of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, pointed out that the three underwater archaeological discoveries and research results reported this time reflect the important progress of China's deep-sea archaeology, ancient shipwreck archaeology and modern shipwreck archaeology in recent years, and are of great significance for promoting the research and development and breakthrough of underwater archaeological technology, the research of the Sino-Japanese naval battle, the research of the ancient maritime Silk Road, and the display. Under the framework of the major project of "Archaeology China", the State Administration of Cultural Heritage will continue to promote multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary cooperation in underwater archaeology, innovate concepts and technical methods, expand research fields, and enhance the international influence of underwater archaeology in China. (End)