Maritime archaeologists have recovered hundreds of artifacts from a two-century-old shipwreck recently discovered in the South China Sea.
China’s National Administration of Cultural Heritage (NCHA) said on Thursday that the sunken ship was first discovered in October 2022 at a depth of about 4,900 feet near the northwest continental shelf.
Both date to the Ming Dynasty, which ruled China from 1368 to 1644. From May 2023 to June 2024, a team of Chinese researchers conducted an underwater archaeological survey of the sunken ships.
Researchers have determined that the first shipwreck dates back to the reign of Emperor Zhengde (1506-1521) and contains more than 100,000 artefacts, while the second was built during the reign of Emperor Hongzhi (1488-1505) and contains mostly large amounts of timber.
CGTN
Song Jianzhong, a researcher at the National Archaeological Research Center under the China State Institute of Archaeology, told China’s English-language news channel CGTN that never-before-seen types of artefacts had been found at the shipwreck site.
A marking on a red and green bowl found in the first shipwreck helped identify the sunken ship as having been built in the first year of Emperor Zhengde’s reign.
“This fully confirms our previous speculation that Shipwreck No. 1 dates to the Zhengde period. This is the most significant discovery of our third phase.” [of research]” Jiangzhong said.
Marine archaeologists also recovered about 890 artifacts or fragments from the first shipwreck, including porcelain, pottery and copper coins, and 38 pieces of wood, porcelain and pottery items and antlers from the second shipwreck.
According to Guan Qiang, deputy director of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage of China, the shipwrecks are key to understanding trade and cultural exchanges in the South China Sea during the Ming Dynasty.
CGTN
Earlier this month, marine archaeologists announced the discovery of two large gravestones from a historic 13th century shipwreck that sank off the coast of England.
Known as the “Mortar Wreck”, the wreck of a medieval ship lies on the seabed off the coast of the Isle of Purbeck, a peninsula in Dorset, southern England.
The ship sank about 800 years ago and is the oldest ship ever discovered in British waters. At the time, the ship was carrying several cargoes, including gravestones and a number of mortars, hence the name.
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