Thousands of treasures found in Chinese wreck

Some 20,000 pieces of porcelain and 2,600 artefacts of flora and fauna have been found on the wreck of an ancient Chinese merchant ship called ‘Nanhai One’, which we wrote about a few years ago.

At a conference marking the tenth anniversary of the ship’s recovery from the bottom of the South China Sea, information about further valuable finds was revealed. Previously, over the years since the wreck saw the light of day, we have kept you updated on all the treasures found on the ship. As it turns out, the “Sesame” still remains open.

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Nanhai One is the oldest and largest wreck found near the Chinese coast. 30 metres long and 10 wide, it owes its name to the place of its discovery. It was the first ship found on the so-called “Maritime Silk Road” in the South China Sea (which in Chinese is called Nan Hai). It dates to the early Song Dynasty period (1127-1279).

It was discovered by accident in 1987, when a British expedition searching for the wreck of the Dutch East India Company together with a Chinese team came across it at a depth of about twenty metres. It was lifted from the bottom in 2007, and since 2013 archaeological research has been underway to establish as many facts about the ship as possible.

So far, in the next stage of the search, in addition to the aforementioned porcelain, of which more than 200 pieces are made of gold and silver, among other things, copper coins have been found.

The excavations are being carried out in a 12-metre deep pool specially adapted for this type of work. The site is part of the Maritime Silk Road Museum in Guangdong Province. Visitors can observe the work on “Nanhai One” through prepared viewing points.

Source: China Daily