On May 17, with the launching of the giant open caisson for salvaging Nanhai No.1, the overall salvage project of Nanhai No.1 officially kicked off. The number of cultural relics on Nanhai No.1 is 60,000-80,000.
Piece, contains a historical mystery of great archaeological value.
Mystery 1 Why did Nanhai No.1 sink?
At present, according to the information obtained in the exploration stage, some archaeologists have judged that the sinking of Nanhai No.1 may be related to the sea wind and waves. "Because the hull is not broken in a large area, it is unlikely to sink due to collision. The sea area where' Nanhai No.1' sank has always been an area with frequent meteorological disasters such as typhoons, and the sinking is probably due to huge waves. "
Some experts also asked: Was Nanhai No.1 sunk due to overload? Archaeologists discovered a huge condensate containing a certain amount of iron when they explored Nanhai-1 in the early stage. Judging from the current situation, "Nanhai No.1" may not only carry a large number of porcelain, but also a number of ironware such as iron pot, as well as some gold jewelry and wood products.
Experts speculate that if there is a storm, the state of "Nanhai No.1" sinking on the seabed should be overturned; If you hit a rock and sink, it is likely that the bow or stern will be inserted into the seabed first. However, judging from the sinking state of Nanhai No.1, the deck is almost parallel to the sea level. Why did the ancient ship sink peacefully? Some experts believe that overload may be one of the reasons.
Some experts also questioned this conjecture: "Nanhai No.1" is 30.4 meters long and 9.8 meters wide, which is equivalent to a ship with a load 100-200 tons in the Song Dynasty. Such a large load is unlikely to sink because of a large number of iron porcelain. Experts believe that the reason for the sinking of Nanhai No.1 will not be known until the total weight of the cultural relics on board is calculated.
Mystery 2 What is the port of origin?
What is the port of origin of Nanhai No.1? This is an urgent problem for archaeologists to solve. Wei Jun, deputy director of the Underwater Archaeological Research Center of Guangdong Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, said that when Nanhai No.1 sank, its bow was 240 degrees southwest, and the sinking direction was roughly the same as that of that year. "In this direction, Nanhai No.1 sailed out of China, not from abroad. The latest research shows that Nanhai No.1 may be heading for West Asia or the Middle East. " Wei Jun said that at present, there is no data showing that Nanhai No.1 sailed from Guangdong, and none of the cultural relics on board belonged to Guangdong.
Some experts infer from the cargo on board that Nanhai No.1 is likely to depart from Quanzhou Port and head north. "Nanhai No.1" produced a lot of porcelain, including Dehua kiln in Fujian, Cizao kiln and Longquan kiln in Zhejiang. Professor Cao, an expert on Song history in the History Department of Sun Yat-sen University, analyzed that historical records recorded that few China merchant ships went north at that time, mostly from Quanzhou and its ports.
●1In August 1987, Guangzhou Salvage Bureau and British Ocean Exploration Company accidentally salvaged more than 200 pieces of porcelain from a merchant ship of the Song Dynasty while searching for the sunken ship of the East India Company in Yangjiang, Guangdong. Archaeologists believe that it may be related to the world-famous Maritime Silk Road. This ship was named "Nanhai No.1".
● 1989, the archaeological department officially launched an investigation on Nanhai No.1.
● In April of 20001year, the Underwater Archaeological Research Center of China History Museum and Guangdong Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology 12 underwater archaeologists searched and located the shipwreck site.
● From March to May, 2002, the underwater archaeological team went into the water again, excavated sunken ships at the bottom of the sea and salvaged more than 4,000 cultural relics.
● In the second half of 2002, the overall salvage and protection plan for Nanhai No.1 was formulated.
● On June 5438+ 10, 2003, the Guangdong Provincial Department of Culture held an expert demonstration meeting on the overall rescue and protection scheme of Nanhai No.1.
● On June 5438+065438+ 10, 2003, Lei Yulan, Vice Governor of Guangdong Province, presided over a meeting to plan and start the construction project of "Guangdong Maritime Silk Road Museum".
● In March 2004, the Guangdong Provincial Development and Reform Commission agreed to raise funds to build the Guangdong Maritime Silk Road Museum in Shili Yintan, Hailing Island, Yangjiang City.
● On February 28th, 2005, 65438, Guangdong Maritime Silk Road Museum started construction.
On June 6th, 2006, National Cultural Heritage Administration adopted the overall rescue and protection plan for Nanhai No.1 in principle, which was organized and implemented by the Guangdong Provincial Department of Culture.
● On June 5438+ 10, 2007, Nanhai No.1 Salvage Headquarters was established in Guangdong Province, with Lei Yulan, vice governor, as the chief commander.
● June 5438+October 2007 10, the archaeological team went to the sunken sea area for the last submarine survey before salvage.
Mystery 3 What is the identity of the shipowner?
Previously, Nanhai No.1 had a nearly 2-meter-long gold-plated belt and a huge gold ring. The belt is woven by four strands of eight gold threads, which is full of exotic customs. This year, in the early stage of coagulation and cleaning of Nanhai No.1, archaeologists found a gold-plated dragon bracelet, which was full of heroism, thicker than a thumb and larger than an ordinary household rice bowl, and both ends were carved into the shape of a faucet.
Jing Lihu, deputy director of the Guangdong Provincial Department of Culture, analyzed that the patterns and patterns carved on the bracelets have China characteristics. So far, gold bracelets, belts, rings and other gold ornaments have appeared on Nanhai No.1, but they are not rusty and shiny. They are relatively thick, such as the gold belt 1.8 meters long and the bracelets are four or two. It can be inferred that the owner wearing these gold jewelry may be rich.
Mystery 4: Did the crew on board escape?
Judging from the exploratory salvage results of Nanhai No.1 cultural relics in recent years, no ancient bones have been found yet. So, when Nanhai No.1 sank, did the crew on board escape? Huang Daoqin, director of the Guangdong Institute of Archaeology, said that whether human bones can be found from the cultural relics in the ship in the end needs further exploration.
Huang Daoqin believes that "Nanhai No.1" is a wooden boat. Unlike some steel ships, they are not as heavy as the Titanic, so the sinking speed will be slower. The hull is not big, and the doors and windows are not high. When Nanhai No.1 sank, it was not difficult for the crew on board to escape from the ship. Huang Daoqin said that after the sinking of "Nanhai No.1", it is likely that only the cargo was empty. As for whether the crew on board can finally escape from danger after fleeing, it is another matter.
Mystery 5: Why don't wooden boats rot for years?
"Nanhai No.1" is located 20 meters below the sea surface and covered with more than 2 meters of silt. Surprisingly, the hull of this ancient ship, which has sunk to the bottom of the sea for more than 800 years, is quite well preserved. The whole ship does not turn over and has no side, but sits on the bottom of the sea, and the wood of the hull is hard.
In the early exploration of Nanhai No.1, a small amount of wood fragments on board were also found. Wei Jun said that some wood blocks are made of masson pine. Masson pine is more common in southern China such as Fujian, Guangdong and Guangxi. Therefore, the birthplace of Nanhai No.1 is most likely South China.
Why can Nanhai No.1 survive underwater for 800 years without rotting? Professor Xu, the head of the water environment research group of Nanhai No.1 and the School of Biology of Sun Yat-sen University, said that Nanhai No.1 was still well preserved after more than 800 years of immersion, mainly for two reasons: First, the oxygen concentration in the underwater environment where Nanhai No.1 sank was low, so it can be inferred that a large amount of silt was attached around the ship in a short time after sinking, thus isolating the hull from the outside world and avoiding oxidative damage. The study of the mud around the sunken ship found that there were many creatures in the mud, but none survived, which indicated that there was a very good anaerobic environment around the hull. Second, the material used in Nanhai No.1 is pine. Guangdong folks say that the Millennium pine soaks in water and the Millennium fir is blown by the wind. This shows that pine is a good shipbuilding material with good soaking resistance.
Mystery 6 What kind of life is there on board?
The bronze mirror of the Song Dynasty with one side exposed from the water attracted the attention of experts. This bronze mirror of the Song Dynasty is rusty, but the patterns carved on it are faintly discernible. Experts say that this bronze mirror of the Song Dynasty is a very typical sunflower bronze mirror. What is more unique is that there are concave and convex grooves on the handle of the mirror, and the front and back of the bronze mirror can be distinguished according to the feel. Previously, "Nanhai No.1" was a cobra skull. Some experts speculate that some Arab businessmen may take cobra as a pet on board as a pastime on long-distance voyage.
In this year's exploration, there have been some pottery pots of different sizes with simple shapes. Experts believe that these pots are probably used by the crew of Nanhai No.1, and some of them may be used to hold wine. If it is true, the life of drinking and entertaining sailors on the way to sea recorded in the literature of Song Dynasty may be confirmed on Nanhai No.1.