This ship has been secretly salvaged by China for 20 years
Photo courtesy: Guangdong Maritime Silk Road Museum Compilation: Yin Hao, Red Queen Warm reminder: It takes about 8 minutes to read this article. In 1987, when the Guangzhou Salvage Bureau and the British Maritime Exploration Company were searching for the 18th century Dutch East India Company wreck in the South China Sea, an accident occurred. A more mysterious "remain" than expected was discovered - a complete Southern Song merchant ship from the distant 12th century. The seabed map before salvage, the wreckage of "Nanhai No. 1". The wooden hull and cargo of the merchant ship were covered with silt nearly 2 meters thick, and there were countless porcelain, gold and copper coins from the Song Dynasty inside the ship. Limited by the funds and technology at the time, it was difficult to investigate the wrecks of merchant ships in silty waters without harming the precious cargo. Considering the integrity of the hull, the amount of cargo it carried, and its high historical value, the wreck was temporarily put in place. Since then, it has been at the bottom of the sea, silent for nearly two decades. A replica of Nanhai No. 1 built in 2014 was on display in Macau. During this period, Yu Weichao, the founder of China's underwater archaeology, named it "Nanhai No. 1". Archaeologists have conducted numerous shipwreck positioning and small-scale salvage. How to completely salvage the entire wreckage of the Nanhai No. 1 and preserve the "time capsule" of the 800-year-old ship to the maximum extent has become a matter of keen interest in the archaeological community. Bronze bracelet salvaged shortly after the wreck was discovered in 1987. In 2002, the plan to salvage the Nanhai No. 1 was formally formulated. The plan is to be implemented in 5 years: a custom-made salvage box weighing 3,000 tons with an unsealed bottom will be lowered to the wreck site. precious relics. The salvage box is lowered around the wreck Once the salvage box is in place, a heavy block of concrete is placed on top and gravity pushes it down into the silt and below the wreck location. The concrete at the top sinks the salvage box to the bottom of the sea. After that, the divers pass a solid beam through the holes in the side of the salvage box, closing the bottom of the salvage box. After the wreck and the surrounding sediments are safe and sound, the concrete blocks are removed, and the huge steel salvage box will slowly surface with the Nanhai No. 1 and the surrounding sediment. The salvage box finally floated up. In December 2007, the salvage work was successfully completed, and the Nanhai No. 1 and its precious cargo were transferred to the Maritime Silk Road Museum in Guangdong. The museum was built specifically to house the wreck, and the Nanhai One was preserved in a custom-made glass jar - the "Crystal Palace". The temperature and other environmental conditions of the Crystal Palace were set to be the same as the waters where the wreck was found, and the wreck and its cargo remained covered in silt and water. The Maritime Silk Road Museum, the exhibit section of the Nanhai No. 1 In these precise preservation conditions, archaeologists continue to study the wreck. Today, more than ten years later, 180,000 items have been unearthed from Nanhai-1. It has become the ocean-going trading merchant ship with the most cultural relics and the most complete preservation so far. Porcelain, coins, silk, gold, silver, copper and tin, bamboo and wood lacquerware, animal and plant remains... Nanhai No. 1 has preserved a complete historical slice, which has become a unique miracle in China's underwater archaeology. Porcelain bowls from Fujian, and thousands of coins of the Song Dynasty were also found in the goods. Gold necklaces salvaged during excavations in 1987 crossed East Asia and connected Europe with the Silk Road. As a major land transportation artery, it has been used for centuries. The important foundation of Song Dynasty economy. When the Song Dynasty retreated to the southern corner, the advantages of the Maritime Silk Road still enabled merchant ships to enter the vast seaway running through the South China Sea. The Southern Song Dynasty turned to shipbuilding, seeking wealth through waterways. So nearly a thousand years ago, the Song Dynasty merchant ship set sail with a full load of cargo. But soon after leaving the port, it sank to the bottom of the sea. The Song Dynasty copper coins in the goods, Longquan celadon tableware with floral patterns, and the 21st century Orient also experienced the reincarnation of the Silk Road at the moment of its rebirth. With the historical symbol of the "Silk Road", the "Belt and Road" plan spreads the vision of connecting the world to further places, and the glory of the Silk Road is recast. Nanhai No. 1 connects the past and the future, heading for a thousand years.