Experts have confirmed that relics retrieved from a shipwreck in thecentral province of Quang Ngai date back to the 14th century,making them among the oldest underwater antiques Vietnam has everdiscovered.
The objects found on the seabed in BinhChau commune, Binh Son district, consist of numerous bowls, incenseburners and ceramics. Their conditions vary, but many feature"beautiful" enamel and "abundant" decorative patterns.
After examining the objects, archaeologists concluded the ceramic warescame from 14th century China in the Yuan dynasty (1279-1368).
Nguyen Dinh Chien, deputy director of the Vietnam National Museum ofHistory, noted that the enamel and decorative patterns showed theobjects were produced late in the Yuan dynasty, making them older thanseveral other recent finds.
Antiques retrieved from five earlier wrecks found nearby were mostly of the 15th century, he said.
According to researcher Doan Ngoc Khoi, deputy director of the QuangNgai History Museum, the area was on a sea trade route hundreds of yearsago, which many Chinese ships would pass to reach the Indian Ocean.
The latest ship was actually discovered accidentally by localfishermen, who then stole various objects from the wreck to sell.
The objects were then seized by local authorities, who brought in a team of archaeologists.
Among the objects found, a block of 11 ceramic sinks has proved to beof particular interest. Experts believe the sinks are stuck to oneanother due to enamel burning at high temperatures.
The stuck sinks showed that the ship might have caught fire or explodedbefore being wrecked, sharing a similar fate with the five earlierwrecks discovered.
The objects were found deep underthe sand of seabed and experts claim that the cracks on them are fairlynew. They believe that the whole body of the wreck is intact under thesand and that surfacing the ship would offer a unique opportunity tostudy the wood material and ship-building techniques of the time.
The objects are now stored at Quang Ngai History Museum for further research.-VNA
The objects found on the seabed in BinhChau commune, Binh Son district, consist of numerous bowls, incenseburners and ceramics. Their conditions vary, but many feature"beautiful" enamel and "abundant" decorative patterns.
After examining the objects, archaeologists concluded the ceramic warescame from 14th century China in the Yuan dynasty (1279-1368).
Nguyen Dinh Chien, deputy director of the Vietnam National Museum ofHistory, noted that the enamel and decorative patterns showed theobjects were produced late in the Yuan dynasty, making them older thanseveral other recent finds.
Antiques retrieved from five earlier wrecks found nearby were mostly of the 15th century, he said.
According to researcher Doan Ngoc Khoi, deputy director of the QuangNgai History Museum, the area was on a sea trade route hundreds of yearsago, which many Chinese ships would pass to reach the Indian Ocean.
The latest ship was actually discovered accidentally by localfishermen, who then stole various objects from the wreck to sell.
The objects were then seized by local authorities, who brought in a team of archaeologists.
Among the objects found, a block of 11 ceramic sinks has proved to beof particular interest. Experts believe the sinks are stuck to oneanother due to enamel burning at high temperatures.
The stuck sinks showed that the ship might have caught fire or explodedbefore being wrecked, sharing a similar fate with the five earlierwrecks discovered.
The objects were found deep underthe sand of seabed and experts claim that the cracks on them are fairlynew. They believe that the whole body of the wreck is intact under thesand and that surfacing the ship would offer a unique opportunity tostudy the wood material and ship-building techniques of the time.
The objects are now stored at Quang Ngai History Museum for further research.-VNA
