- Nanhai One
-
Nanhai I model in Song City, Hangzhou.
The Nanhai One (Traditional: 南海一號; Simplified: 南海一号; Pinyin: Náihǎi Yī Hào - South China Sea No. 1) is a Chinese merchant ship which sank off the south China coast during the Southern Song Dynasty between 1127 and 1279.
Contents
History
The shipwreck was found in 1987 by a team from Maritime Exploration & Recoveries PLC of Southampton UK, during their search for the wreck of the 18th Century ship Rhynsburg. MER PLC had a joint venture with the Guangzhou branch of the Chinese Salvage Company.
The ship is 30.4 m (100 ft) long and 9.8 m (32 ft) wide, 3.5 m (11 ft) in height (excluding the mast). It is the biggest ship of its kind to be found.[1] It was the first ancient vessel discovered on the "Marine Silk Road". According to the head of the excavation project, the ship left port in southern China to trade with foreign countries and sank probably due to stormy waves. It was quickly buried by silt.
Artefacts
When first found about 200 pieces of porcelain from the Sung Dynasty were recovered, together with Sung coins, about 130 kilos of silver bars, a brass kettle and a gold waist chain. Some artefacts suggest that the wreck may have been from the early Yuan period 1280+. It may or may not have been a Chinese ship. Recently there have been reports that the artefacts were 'smashed'. Relatively few pieces were damaged at the time of recovery, the writers has the original pictures, but cannot understand how to upload them.
At the time of the second survey it is reported to have 60,000 to 80,000 items onboard. [2]
In 2007, China began to raise the ship and its artifacts. The ship will be placed in a pool-type container called the "Crystal Palace". The container is 64 meters long, 40 meters wide and 23 meters high. It contains seawater and is about 12 meters in depth. Visitors will be able to watch the ongoing excavation of the ship through windows on two sides of the pool. [3]
See also
- Huaguangjiao One
- List of shipwrecks
References
Coordinates: 21°34′34″N 111°52′08″E / 21.57611°N 111.86889°E
Categories:- Shipwrecks in the South China Sea
- Ships of China
- Individual ship or boat stubs
- Chinese history stubs
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
