A Treasure from the Ming Dynasty Discovered During Shipwreck Excavation…
A camera on a submersible captured the moment a treasure was discovered on June 13 (local time) in the ancient waters known as the “Maritime Silk Road.”
Artifacts discovered in the shipwreck.
Archaeologists utilized a manned submersible named “Deep Sea Warrior” to excavate the remains of two sunken ships. In fact, the excavation has been ongoing since last year when the shipwreck was first discovered in 2022, at a depth of over 1,500 meters near the northwestern continental shelf of the South China Sea.
Nearly 1,000 cultural relics dating back to the Ming Dynasty (from 1368 to 1644) have been recovered, including porcelain, ceramics, bronze coins, and deer antlers. Guan Qiang, Deputy Director of the National Cultural Heritage Administration of China (NCHA), stated that underwater excavation of the shipwrecks indicates that people during the Ming Dynasty utilized the South China Sea, known as the ancient Maritime Silk Road, as an important trade route.
Of the two sunken ships, one was transporting timber, textiles, and silk, while the other contained porcelain and ceramics. The wrecks are reported to be approximately 10 nautical miles apart.
“This could be a world-class archaeological discovery in the deep sea,” said Yan Yalin, Director of Archaeology at the State Administration of Cultural Heritage of China, in a statement to the media.
