China News Service, Jinan, March 13th: How can the archeology of the Sino-Japanese War shipwreck series fill the gap in the underwater archeology of modern Chinese shipwrecks?
Reporter Zhao Xiao
Coinciding with the 130th anniversary of the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese Sino-Japanese Sino-Japanese War, the underwater archaeological series of Sino-Japanese Sino-Japanese Sino-Japanese War sunken ships comes to an end.
Where are the warships that sank in the Sino-Japanese War more than a hundred years ago?
The Archaeological Research Center of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, in conjunction with cultural and museum research units in Shandong and Liaoning provinces, has continued to carry out underwater archaeological research on the Sino-Japanese War of Sino-Japanese War since 2013.
In the past ten years, as various cultural relics such as weapons and ammunition, hull components, and naval daily items from sunken ships have come out of the water, a lot of information and details about the Sino-Japanese War sunken ships and the Beiyang Navy have been revealed.
Data map: Heavily armed archaeologists entered the water to explore the underwater remains.
Photo courtesy of Shandong Underwater Archeology Research Center
The "legacy pearl" in the sea finally appears
"On the ship Laiyuan, there is a first-class sailor named Zhang Changfa and a third-class sailor named Yu Shengyuan." Wang Zebing, deputy director of the Shandong Provincial Underwater Archeology Research Center, said in an exclusive interview with a reporter from China News Network on the 13th. From July to September 2023, archaeologists extracted a total of more than 1,800 cultural relics in the underwater excavation area of about 370 square meters of the "Laiyuan" ship.
Among them, two wooden identification plates for sailors and a silver-plated spoon both have the words "Lai Yuan" on them.
Two wooden identification plaques for sailors were unearthed from the ruins of the "Laiyuan" ship.
Photo courtesy of Shandong Underwater Archeology Research Center
Silver-plated spoon engraved with the word "Lai Yuan".
Photo courtesy of Shandong Underwater Archeology Research Center
Early photos taken by Japanese reporters accompanying the military showed that the "Laiyuan" ship capsized on the sea during combat.
In the early stage of the Weihai Bay underwater archaeological survey project, archaeologists made a preliminary assessment of the preservation status of various sunken ships in the bay. It was originally thought that the "Laiyuan" ship was dismantled by Japan's "Fuzheng" after the war, and there was probably no hull or shipwreck in the sunken area. Relics remain.
The turning point will occur in 2022.
During the underwater archaeological investigation of the "Jingyuan" ship, archaeologists conducted marine magnetic geophysical surveys in the sea areas where the sunken ships sank, and found obvious magnetic anomalies in the area where the "Laiyuan" ship sank.
Wang Zebing recalled that they further explored the seabed mud strata, carried out diving exploration and underwater exploration work, and finally determined the distribution range of the "Laiyuan" ship ruins.
"Through early data retrieval and geophysical data analysis, we have basically determined the identity of the 'Laiyuan' ship, but the archaeological work is rigorous and based on physical objects. The discovery of three cultural relics with the word 'Laiyuan' has provided us with Inferring the identity of the sunken ship provides important physical evidence," Wang Zebing said.
Wang Zebing told reporters that the "Laiyuan" ship was the last battleship they were looking for in the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, and it was also the final work of the ten-year underwater archaeological survey project on sunken Sino-Japanese War ships.
Since 2017, Shandong has successively discovered and excavated the ruins of the "Dingyuan" ship, the "Jingyuan" ship, and the "Laiyuan" ship.
The three battleships of the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, which have been "sleeping" in Weihai Bay for more than a hundred years, have all been "veiled".
210MM caliber Krupp artillery shells unearthed from the "Jingyuan" ship ruins.
Photo courtesy of Shandong Underwater Archeology Research Center
A naval saber unearthed from the ruins of the "Laiyuan" ship.
Photo courtesy of Shandong Underwater Archeology Research Center
Detection technology is more accurate
The underwater investigation and excavation of the Sino-Japanese War shipwreck site faces many challenges such as severe damage to the shipwreck, complex sea conditions, and poor visibility.
In the vast sea, how can archaeologists accurately grasp the location of underwater remains?
For example, Wang Zebing said that when searching for the two ships "Jingyuan" and "Laiyuan", they used ocean magnetometers to locate obvious magnetic anomaly locations in a large area, and then carried out targeted detection.
When abnormal changes are discovered, archaeologists will use the shallow stratigraphic profile system to focus on detecting the remains or relics buried in the mud, and finally locate the distribution area of the sunken ship relics.
"This basically gets rid of the 'needle in a haystack' approach." Wang Zebing said.
During excavations, archaeologists will also encounter larger relics.
Wang Zebing said that they will cooperate with the professional salvage department and use the technology of the salvage department to use buoyancy belts or cranes to salvage large relics such as artillery shells and armor plates ashore.
Data map: Archaeologists lift ammunition boxes at the site.
Photo courtesy of Shandong Underwater Archeology Research Center
Ten years of archeology to fill in the blanks
The archaeological work on the Sino-Japanese War shipwreck series has been evaluated by the industry as “filling the gap in modern underwater archeology of shipwrecks in Chinese waters.”
In Wang Zebing’s view, the research field of modern shipwrecks is relatively broad, including not only the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, but also the remains of World War I and civilian shipwrecks.
"Through the series of investigations on Sino-Japanese War shipwrecks, we have accumulated and summarized a set of technical methods for conducting underwater archaeological investigations of modern shipwrecks, providing experience and reference for future exploration of underwater cultural relics of the same period or type."
The conduct of the above-mentioned investigation work has also allowed archaeologists to master a batch of important physical materials and understand more realistic details of the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895 and the living conditions of the navy.
"These are details that cannot be recorded in depth in historical documents and provide new materials for in-depth study of the Sino-Japanese War of 1898-1894," Wang Zebing said.
Data map: A cultural relic restorer uses a carving knife to remove rust on the surface of a ship component.
Photo by Zhao Xiao
Wang Zebing revealed that in the next two years, the Shandong Provincial Underwater Archeology Research Center will successively launch underwater archaeological survey reports on the three battleships "Dingyuan", "Jingyuan" and "Laiyuan".
"This year, we plan to hold an academic seminar to commemorate the 130th anniversary of the Sino-Japanese War of 1898 and an exhibition of underwater archaeological achievements. The public is expected to have a close look at the underwater cultural relics of various ships of the Beiyang Navy." (End)