Two beautiful and remarkably well-preserved golden necklaces discovered in an 800-year-old shipwreck are currently being showcased at the Guangdong Museum in China, alongside a collection of other artifacts dating back to the Song Dynasty.
The Nanhai I, a ship found by a collaborative expedition of Chinese and British researchers in 1987, has finally been lifted from the ocean floor after twenty years for further examination. This vessel, filled with valuable goods, is China’s biggest and most ancient sunken ship, which was making its way from China to the Indian Ocean along the ‘Maritime Silk Road’ before it sank near the coast. Keep scrolling to watch the video.
Two stunning gold necklaces found in an 800-year-old shipwreck are now on view at the Guangdong Museum in China. These necklaces, along with various other artifacts from the Song Dynasty, are part of the exhibition titled ‘The Route of the Sea: Nanhai I Shipwreck and Maritime Trade in the Southern Song Dynasty’. Discovered by a Chinese-British diving team in the South China Sea in 1987, the Nanhai I shipwreck is one of China’s largest and oldest known shipwrecks, dating back to the time of the Song Dynasty (960-1279 AD).
During their search for the sunken Dutch East India Company vessel, the Rimsburge, divers unexpectedly discovered another ancient shipwreck. According to Director Jiang Bo from the Chinese Institute of Underwater Archaeology, the ship likely sank due to being overloaded or during a storm.
The newly found ship, known as the Nanhai I, is remarkably well-preserved and was a spacious merchant vessel measuring approximately 72 feet in length and 30 feet in width. Sun Jian, the technical director of the Underwater Cultural Heritage Protection Centre, described it as a sturdy and wide ship design from ancient times, specially built to withstand rough seas and carry heavy cargo.
Despite being buried under sludge on the seabed for over eight centuries, the hull of the Nanhai I has remarkably kept its structure intact, safeguarding a multitude of ancient artifacts within its hold.
Even though the ship was submerged at a relatively shallow depth of 75 feet (23 meters), the vast amount of discoveries and the murky waters made the salvage operation of the ship and its contents challenging. The initial joint investigative mission that located the wreck had made attempts to retrieve items from the seabed, managing to lift some objects but inadvertently causing damage to the rear of the vessel in the process. Luckily, the Nanhai I’s position near the Chinese shoreline shielded it from looting until a more meticulous recovery could take place.
The ship, known as the Nanhai I, was initially found by a team of explorers from China and Britain in 1987. However, it wasn’t until twenty years later that the ship was successfully brought up from the depths for further investigation.
The sunken vessel carrying valuable cargo is the biggest and most ancient shipwreck ever discovered in China. It was on its way from China to the Indian Ocean, following the ancient route known as the ‘Maritime Silk Road’, when it sank near the coast.
The necklaces are showcased in the newly unveiled exhibit ‘The Sea Route: Nanhai I Shipwreck and Trade in the Southern Song Dynasty’, currently on display at the Guangdong Museum in Guangzhou, China.
After nine months of preparation, the entire shipwreck was successfully lifted from the seabed on December 21, 2007, and placed in the specially constructed Guangdong Maritime Silk Road Museum on Hailing Island, Guangdong.
The ancient vessel is now housed in a massive aquarium, designed to replicate the precise water temperature and quality found on the sea floor where the ship was originally discovered.
The meticulous extraction process involved a 5,500-ton watertight container that could hold the entire shipwreck. The shipwreck was then pressed into the seabed before the surrounding mud was cleared and a base was inserted. This operation, carried out by the Chinese State Administration of Cultural Heritage and Transport Department, had a price tag of approximately $20 million (£16 million).
The Nanhai I and all its contents are now safely preserved in the Maritime Silk Road Museum. Visitors to the museum can witness the ongoing excavations of the raised vessel in real-time through the museum’s glass-fronted ‘crystal palace’.
After an extensive nine months of work, the entire wreck was lifted from the ocean floor on December 21, 2007, and moved to its new home in the specially constructed Guangdong Maritime Silk Road Museum on Hailing Island, Guangdong. Check out the picture for a glimpse of this fascinating journey!
The historic ship is stored in a massive aquarium, designed to mimic the precise water conditions found on the ocean floor where it was originally found.
The Maritime Silk Road Museum not only houses the Nanhai I ship and its artifacts but also allows visitors to witness the ongoing excavations of the sunken vessel in person.
The Guangdong Maritime Silk Road Museum located on Hailing Island, Guangdong is where the Nanhai I relics are usually displayed. It is believed that the shipwreck contained around 100 tons of ironware cargo, such as nails, pots, and pans, making up half of its weight capacity. Additionally, there were 13,000 pieces of porcelain from famous kilns in Fujian, Jiangxi, and Zhejiang, some of which were even labeled with the shops they were sold in and their places of origin.
These findings are valuable for archaeologists as they shed light on the significant economic players during the Song Dynasty. Along with the gold items recovered from the wreck, including over 17,000 copper coins, there were also silver and copper relics. Personal belongings like bracelets, delicate lacquerware, and rings indicate that there were multiple individuals on board the vessel when it sank. Three sets of human remains have been discovered as well.
In August 1987, a joint Chinese-British diving expedition uncovered the remains of the shipwreck known as Nanhai I, meaning ‘South China Sea 1’, off the shores of Shangchuan Island in Guangdong province, South China Sea.
The shipwreck’s remains belong to one of China’s biggest and oldest sunken vessels, dating back to the time of the Song Dynasty that ruled from 960 to 1279 AD. The discovery of a Middle-Eastern style belt suggests that the people aboard, including merchants and passengers, possibly included foreign travelers. ‘What we unearthed went far beyond our expectations,’ mentioned Mr. Bo. During the Nanhai I’s time, China’s foreign trade flourished, with ships like it setting sail from the southern coast to distant lands like Southeast Asia, India, and the Arab world, carrying goods such as porcelain, silk, and tea. The Maritime Silk Road, a bustling trading route along Guangdong Province’s southern coast, facilitated the journey of numerous merchant ships each year.
The remarkably well-preserved ancient vessel in question is a seafaring merchant ship known for its spacious hull, measuring approximately 72 feet in length and 30 feet in width.
In addition to a collection of necklaces, the latest exhibit showcases over 400 other artifacts recovered from the shipwreck, as well as various items from the Southern Song Dynasty era.
These treasures include ceramics, engraved tablets, metalwork, gemstones, silver adornments, and assorted plant and animal specimens.
By presenting the Nanhai I relics alongside other historical items, organizers hope to highlight the wreck’s significance and cultural importance.
Visitors can view the exhibition at the Guangdong Museum until August 25, 2019.
