A new chapter in China's deep-sea archaeology has begun!

On May 5, the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, the Ministry of Science and Technology, the People's Government of Hainan Province and the Chinese Academy of Sciences jointly held a press conference to officially announce the discovery of large-scale ancient shipwreck cultural relics in the northwest slope of the South China Sea, and successfully deployed China's first deep-sea archaeological underwater permanent mapping base point. At the same time, the State Administration of Cultural Heritage officially launched the archaeological investigation of the ancient shipwreck sites No. 21 and No. <> on the northwest slope of the South China Sea.

Netizens said: "The vicissitudes of the sea! China, with its long civilization, has rich precious treasures, both underground and under the sea. ”

Start a new chapter

"Breathtaking", "So much porcelain", "I feel excited just by looking at the photos", "It's spectacular"... Under the underwater real photos of the shipwreck released by Xinhua News Agency's Weibo, netizens sighed.

According to Xinhuanet, on May 5, the main responsible comrade of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage took the "Deep Sea Warrior" manned submersible to participate in the first archaeological survey of the No. 20 shipwreck on the northwest slope of the South China Sea, laid out underwater permanent mapping base points in the southwest corner of the core accumulation area of the shipwreck site, and conducted preliminary search and investigation and image records, officially launched the archaeological investigation of the ancient shipwreck sites of the No. <> and No. <> northwest slope of the South China Sea, and opened a new chapter in China's deep-sea archaeology.

It is understood that the base point of the underwater permanent mapping deployed this time was carried by the deep submersible and deployed on the surface of the seabed. After the deployment, the researchers were able to calibrate the position of the permanent base point with the help of the long-baseline positioning system, laying a solid foundation for the accurate archaeological investigation of ancient shipwrecks.

The "appearance" of two ancient shipwreck sites stems from archaeological surveys last year. CCTV News said that in October 2022, a deep-sea archaeological survey team found two ancient shipwrecks in a depth of about 10,1500 meters on the northwest slope of the South China Sea. One of the shipwreck sites is dominated by porcelain, and the number of cultural relics is estimated to exceed 10,<>. According to the preliminary judgment of the cultural relics out of the water, it was named the shipwreck of No. <> in the northwest slope of the South China Sea. The No. <> shipwreck site is dominated by a large number of logs, and preliminary research is that ancient shipwrecks loaded from overseas to China were sailed to China. According to the preliminary judgment of the cultural relics out of the water, it was named the shipwreck of the No. <> Lupo in the northwest of the South China Sea.

The survey shows that the two shipwrecks on the northwest slope of the South China Sea are of similar age, only more than 10 nautical miles apart. This is the first time that ancient ships sailing and returning in the same sea area have been found in China, which fully proves the importance of this route and the degree of prosperity at that time.

"The shipwrecks No. 1 and No. 2 of 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 very important 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." Yan Yalin, director of the Department of Archaeology of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, said.

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. Xinhuanet said that this major discovery fully demonstrates 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.

Many netizens commented: "There is a feeling of being in line with the past time and space!" ”

New technology, new equipment

Use the key of technology to open the door of history. The discovery of shipwrecks No. 1 and No. 2 on the northwest slope of the South China Sea is a perfect fusion of deep-sea technology and underwater archaeology.

According to the website of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, the No. 2022 and No. 10 wrecks of the northwest slope of the South China Sea were discovered by the "Deep Sea Warrior" manned submersible on October 23, 500 with the special support of the Chinese Academy of Sciences' strategic leading science and technology, based on the relevant seabed exploration results in the early stage.

"In recent years, a series of technologies and equipment independently deployed and developed by the Chinese Academy of Sciences pilot special projects, such as shipborne multi-beam systems, emergency rescue and salvage operation tools, and underwater unmanned detection platforms, have laid a solid foundation for the underwater discovery and salvage of deep-sea cultural relics." Chen Chuanxu, deputy director of the Science Department of the Institute of Deep Sea Science and Engineering of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said.

The report published by China Industry Network pointed out that for deep-sea archaeology with high technical threshold, the breakthrough progress made in China's deep-sea technology and equipment has provided strong technical support for the development of deep-sea archaeology.

Tang Wei, director of the Archaeological Research Center of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, said that in this archaeological survey, a series of new technologies and new equipment were adopted for the first time, such as setting up underwater permanent mapping base points on deep-sea wrecks, and using long-baseline positioning technology for position calibration, which greatly improved the accuracy and accuracy of underwater archaeological work and data recording; Comprehensive use of a variety of technical means to carry out multi-angle, all-round archaeological records. These have played a very important role in the improvement of underwater archaeological technology, and have taken an important step in exploring the research and development of underwater archaeological excavation technology and equipment.

According to People's Daily News, the archaeological work used the submerged bathymetric side-sweep sonar independently developed by the Chinese Academy of Sciences to obtain the underwater global distribution map of the wreck area, which provided key data image support for quickly clarifying the distribution range of cultural relics, site selection of surveying and mapping base points and formulation of cultural relics protection plans.

According to Xinhuanet, in response to the special requirements for on-site observation of cultural relics and cultural relics extraction, the Institute of Deep Sea Science and Engineering of the Chinese Academy of Sciences will use manned/unmanned submersibles, combined with the use of new force feedback flexible manipulators, submerged sand blowing and cleaning devices, etc., to carry out non-destructive protective extraction of seabed cultural relics, and carry out underwater cleaning of key cultural relics covered by sediment, which is convenient for archaeologists to make in-situ observations.

Chen Chuanxu introduced: "We will make full use of the existing platform technology and equipment, including the 'Exploration 1' and 'Exploration 2' research vessels, the 'Deep Sea Warrior' and 'Striver' manned submersibles, the 'Lionfish 1' remote-controlled underwater robot, etc., and at the same time carry out research and development of key technologies and special equipment for deep-sea archaeology to provide strong support for deep-sea archaeology." ”

Weibo netizen "Kongshan New Rain" commented: "Thanks to the development of science and technology, let us understand history more completely. Netizen "Tiger Roar Nine Days" left a message saying: "Looking forward to more actions to bring harvests to archaeology." ”

The deep sea continues to explore

Deep-sea archaeology is at the forefront of underwater archaeology research in the world. In recent years, China's deep-sea archaeological exploration has not stopped, and significant progress has been made.

According to China.com, in April 2018 and August 4, 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 China (Hainan) South China Sea Museum successfully carried out two deep-sea archaeological surveys in the waters of the North Reef of Xisha and the Trough of the Xisha Sea, and found several shipwrecks and relic sites.

The archaeological investigation of the No. 1 and No. 2 shipwrecks on the northwest slope of the South China Sea is the first archaeological work carried out in China on the cultural relics under the deep sea. According to People's Daily News, this archaeological discovery is of great significance for the study of the changes of the South China Sea sea route since the late Tang dynasty, filling the missing link of China's ancient offshore navigation route in the South China Sea, and improving the historical chain of the South China Sea section of the Maritime Silk Road.

"The State Administration of Cultural Heritage attached great importance to this discovery, quickly organized professional forces, formulated underwater archaeological investigation plans, and carried out the protection and restoration of extracted water cultural relics. The People's Government of Hainan Province shall implement the responsibility of protection and management, carry out maritime patrols and monitoring in relevant sea areas, and ensure the safety of cultural relics. Yan Yalin introduced.

The archaeological investigation of the ancient shipwreck sites No. 1 and No. 2 on the northwest slope of the South China Sea will be divided into three phases.

According to CCTV.com, the first phase will last from May 5 to early June, using manned submersibles to search to find out the distribution range of wrecks, conduct multi-angle and all-round data collection and archaeological records on wreck sites, and appropriately extract representative cultural relics specimens, as well as scientific test samples such as seabed substrates; The second and third phases are scheduled to be implemented from August to September 20 and from March to April 6. After the completion of the archaeological investigation, the preservation status and technical conditions of the wreck will be scientifically evaluated, and the next archaeological and site protection plan will be proposed for the next step.

Deep-sea archaeology requires both technology and talent. The deep-sea archaeology team is jointly composed of three units, namely 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 of China (Hainan), with nearly 30 members, including scientific researchers in the fields of archaeology, cultural relics protection, geophysical exploration, marine geology, marine biology, and mechanical and electronics, divided into six groups: geophysical survey, deep diving operation, cultural relics protection, surveying and mapping recording, photography and videography, and data compilation, to carry out collaborative operations and jointly complete this task.

According to China Industry Network, the State Administration of Cultural Heritage will work with the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Hainan Provincial People's Government, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, etc. to further strengthen deep-sea archaeology. Focusing on shipwrecks No. 1 and No. 2, carry out deep-sea archaeological surveys in key areas and important shipping routes in the South China Sea on a regular basis, and promote archaeological research on the Maritime Silk Road. Carry out research on key technologies and research and development of special equipment for deep-sea archaeology, and accelerate the construction of a talent team for deep-sea archaeology. Effectively strengthen the protection and management of the two shipwreck sites to ensure the safety of the sites and cultural relics. (People's Daily Overseas Edition, Chen Zhenkai, Hou Jingyi)