Cultural Relics + 928 Sets! World-class Major Archaeological Discovery →

About 150 kilometers southeast of Sanya City, Hainan Province, under the thousand-meter deep blue, two ancient shipwrecks unveiled their mysterious veil.

From 2023 to 2024, a joint team from 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 conducted three phases of deep-sea archaeological surveys of the No. 1 and No. 2 shipwreck sites on the northwest slope of the South China Sea.

On June 13, the State Administration of Cultural Heritage held a major progress meeting on the "Archaeology China" major project at the China (Hainan) Nanhai Museum to introduce the archaeological findings of the two shipwreck sites. Archaeological investigations have found that the sites are relatively well preserved and the age is relatively clear. This is not only a major discovery in China's deep-sea archaeology, but also a major world-class archaeological discovery.

What kind of legend do the two ancient shipwrecks under the blue waves reveal?

This is a vivid ancient legend——

Archaeological investigations have confirmed that the core area of ​​the No. 1 shipwreck site is composed of a pile of ship hulls and a large number of neatly stacked cargoes. The core area of ​​the No. 2 shipwreck site is mainly composed of neatly arranged and stacked logs, as well as a small amount of ceramics, lead and tin wares, etc.

The reporter learned that more than 100,000 cultural relics including pottery, porcelain, bronze, iron, bamboo and wood were found at the No. 1 shipwreck site. A total of 890 pieces (sets) of cultural relics including blue-and-white porcelain, green-glazed porcelain, white-glazed porcelain, blue-and-white-glazed porcelain, enamel porcelain, brown-glazed pottery, copper coins, etc. were extracted in the three phases of investigation. 38 cultural relics including logs, porcelain, pottery, salamander shells, deer antlers, etc. were extracted from the No. 2 shipwreck site.

"Shipwreck No. 1 was fully loaded with ceramics for export, and Shipwreck No. 2 was loaded with timber imported from overseas. It is speculated that both Shipwreck No. 1 and Shipwreck No. 2 were private merchant ships." Song Jianzhong, a research curator at the Archaeological Research Center of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, introduced that the starting port of Shipwreck No. 1 may have been the coast of Guangdong or Fujian, heading for the trade transit point of Malacca; Shipwreck No. 2 may have loaded logs in Malacca and returned to the coastal ports of Guangdong or Fujian.

" The two shipwreck sites reproduce the prosperous scene of maritime trade in the mid-Ming Dynasty, especially the enamelware from Ship No. 1 and the ebony from Ship No. 2, which are the first discoveries in shipwreck archaeology. They are important witnesses of the trade exchanges on the ancient Maritime Silk Road in China, and provide important physical materials for the study of China's maritime history, maritime trade history, and cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries, " said Song Jianzhong.

Pictographic pots, enamel plum bottles, blue and white figure-patterned jars... Today, gazing at these exquisite cultural relics is like opening a "time treasure box" that has been sealed for a hundred years. Hundreds of years ago, the endless merchant ships and wandering passengers on this blue sea seemed to come alive before our eyes, opening a dialogue with us across time and space.

This is a modern legend where technology and humanities go hand in hand.

Riding in a manned submersible, we went down to depths that cannot be reached by conventional diving to investigate, record, and study the sites, extract cultural relics and samples, and witness with our own eyes the mountains of ceramics piled up... Deep-sea archaeology is a frontier field in the world's underwater archaeological research. The archaeological investigation work at the two shipwreck sites is also a vivid portrayal of science and technology going hand in hand with archaeology.

It is reported that the deep-sea archaeological survey of the No. 1 and No. 2 shipwreck sites on the northwest slope of the South China Sea applied a variety of deep-sea technologies and equipment. For example, a 3D laser scanner and a high-definition camera were used to complete the panoramic photography stitching and 3D laser scanning of the distribution area of ​​the shipwreck sites; and a submersible mud pumping and blowing device was used to pump and blow mud on the planned cultural relics and some important areas .

Guan Qiang, deputy director of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, said: "This deep-sea archaeological work fully demonstrates the integration of my country's deep-sea technology and underwater archaeology, and marks that my country's deep-sea archaeology is moving towards the world's advanced level."

Wang Zhongyun, deputy director of the Hainan Provincial Department of Tourism, Culture, Radio, Film and Television and Sports, introduced that in the next step, on the premise of doing a good job in protection, restoration and research, they will timely organize and publish important underwater archaeological results, launch a special exhibition on deep-sea archaeology as soon as possible, and publish a fine catalog of underwater cultural relics.

In addition, special resource surveys on the underwater cultural heritage of the South China Sea will continue to be carried out to further understand the situation and provide a basic basis for the protection and development of the underwater cultural heritage of the South China Sea.

We hope that in the future, the two shipwreck sites will tell more about the wonderful history of our ancestors exploring routes to distant places in the wind and rain, and that more archaeological discoveries will reveal the moving chapters of the exchange and mutual learning of civilizations over thousands of years.

Planning and production

Source: People's Daily Client (Reporter: Wang Jue), Xinhua News Agency (Reporter: Wang Peng Shi Yucen)

Editor: Wang Mengru

Proofread by Xu Lailinlin