The ‘Other’ Silk Road: China Peers Into Maritime Past
NPR, 02 July 2010

In China, it is hard to imagine just how much history lies right under your feet. The country has long been a goldmine for archaeologists.

Until recently, they have been confined to digging on land. But in recent years, China has grown into a powerhouse of nautical archaeology, combing its vast coastline for undersea shipwrecks, treasure, and traces of a trade route known as the “Maritime Silk Road,” a less-known parallel to the fabled overland passage.

About 1,000 visitors a day flock to one of China’s newest museums, in Guangdong province’s Yangjiang city. It is called the Maritime Silk Road Museum, and it is on the beach, facing the South China Sea.

The museum houses one of the world’s oldest known merchant ships, dating from the Southern Song Dynasty in the 13th century. It’s been dubbed the South China Sea No. 1.

More pictures and videos after the jump!

The Jewel called to port about a week and a half ago, and the crew is enjoying a well-deserved rest after a harrowing run from Sri Lanka. Besides taking a well-deserved break, they’re also making some repairs to the ship before embarking for Singapore at the end of the week. Dr Tom Vosmer, a marine archaeologist and project director for the Jewel of Muscat project met me at the ship to give us an introduction to the ship:

The Jewel of Muscat at Tanjong Marina in Georgetown, Penang.

The stern of the Jewel of Muscat. This section of the ship was less reliably accurate because the original shipwreck was too encrusted with coral to be examined. Based on artwork of the period, they built a two-rudder system common for the time.

The Jewel was reconstructed using traditional methods, and the boat was literally sewn together with timber and hand-made rope.

The crew also used a tool called the Kamal, a block of wood on a string to keep track of the height of stars. But the ship also carried a full suite of modern tools, such as a radar, GPS, weather monitoring equipment and an on-board camera (pictured).

The Jewel of Muscat was surprisingly small – only 18 metres long – but I was surprised to hear that it had a cargo capacity of 25 tons, which in turn hints at the volume of trade that must have taken place during this period over such great distances. We also got to hear from Dr. Vosmer about life aboard the ship and gain an idea of how the crew lived and operated on a day-to-day basis.

The interior deck of the Jewel. The original Belitung shipwreck did not have a deck, and this feature was added for the ship.

The crew carved the prayer 'Allah Akbar' ('God is Great') along one of the mast's crossbeams.

The cargo hold underneath the deck in the video, that smells like rotten eggs.

Unfortunately, the hold also contains some of the sleeping quarters!

Ever wondered where the toilet was on board the ship? There are two basket compartments at the ship's stern, near the rudder where crew members can relieve themselves. No, I didn't try it. But now you know!

It was a real treat to step aboard a pretty accurate reconstruction of a 9th century trading vessel – I suspect once the ship becomes a museum piece in Singapore there won’t be any more opportunities to do so! After the ship lands in Singapore, the data collected about the ship’s behaviour will enhance our understanding of the trade between China and Arabia from a technical standpoint, but I also hope to hear from the sailors their insight about what it means to be trader sailing the seven seas and the kind of mettle required to undertake such a journey.

The Jewel of Muscat sets sail again on June 18 to Singapore, where it will reside as a gift from the Sultanate of Oman to the island republic. You can learn more about the Jewel and its progress in the official website, www.jewelofmuscat.tv

If you have access, more information about the Belitung shipwreck can be found in Michael Flecker’s A Ninth-Century AD Arab or Indian Shipwreck in Indonesia: First Evidence for Direct Trade with China in World Archaeology (2001), vol 32, no. 3.

Special thanks to Dr. Tom Vosmer, Kat of Oman Sail and Chan Jee Kei of Opal Asia for facilitating access to the Jewel of Muscat.

The Jewel of Muscat is a replica of a 9th century Arab trading vessel based on a shipwreck found in Indonesian waters in 1988. It was built in the traditional hand-sewn method as a gift from the Oman Sultanate to the people of Singapore in commemoration of the trade routes between the two countries. The Jewel set sail from Muscat in February this year, calling at ports in India, Sri Lanka and Malaysia before arriving at its final destination in Singapore sometime in July.

The Jewel is due in Georgetown at the end of the month, and we’re getting onboard the Jewel to take some pictures and speak with the crew and her creators. If you have any questions you’d like us to ask about the Jewel or her crew, leave a comment or send me an email!

Also get the latest information about the Jewel of Muscat on their official website here.

Indonesia Criticized for Murky Rules on Sunken Treasures
Jakarta Globe, 14 May 2010

Given the country’s thousands of sprawling islands, key shipping lanes and bounty of shipwrecks, the government should immediately draft legislation on the recovery and management of sunken treasures, stakeholders said.

Last week’s lack of bidders at an auction of 10th-century ceramics and jewelry recovered from the depths was clear proof that the government had a long way to go toward managing such items, said speakers at a discussion organized by the Indonesian Heritage Trust (BPPI) in Jakarta on Tuesday.

Ratu Raja Arimbi Nurtina, a spokeswoman for the Cirebon royal family at the Kanoman Palace, said the recovered items had been taken from the waters off Cirebon, West Java, without the involvement of local residents.

“I regret the decision to take these treasures and put them under the hammer,” she said. “Even though they were, strictly speaking, not ours, it would have been better to consult with us on the matter.”

Can a nation afford its own treasure?
Jakarta Post, 11 May 2010

The company proposed to the government its survey and excavation plan, which was issued in February 2004. The recovery process, completed in October 2005, took 18 months.

According to the artifacts’ catalogue, the majority of the ceramics found at the wreck were produced during the Five Dynasties in China’s Zhejiang Province, where an early form of porcelain called the Yue ware were produced.

History enthusiasts protested the government’s plan to auction some of the discovered artifacts.
Even the Cirebon Kasepuhan palace urged the government to cancel the auction and preserve the goods for the sake of the nation’s culture. A protester attending the auction, which took place last week, angrily denounced the process.

However, the National Committee of Excavation and Utilization of Precious Artifacts from Sunken Ships (Pannas BMKT) — a newly formed entity established in 2007 by Presidential Decree — waived off the notion that the country is auctioning away its heritage.

“To be fair, the ceramics found here do not contain Indonesian culture. The ship was passing by, and it sank. Those are all Chinese ceramics,” Culture and Tourism Minister, Jero Wacik, who is also deputy chairman of Pannas BMKT, said during the auction.

Indonesia To Build Maritime Museum
Bernama, 10 May 2010

The Indonesian government is planning to build a maritime museum in Jakarta in a bid to save the treasure, artifacts and valuable goods retrieved from the old sunken ships in Indonesia’s waters, a minister said Monday.

“We have planned to build a museum, in particular, to store the valuable goods retrieved from many of ships sunk hundreds of years ago in our waters,” Indonesian Maritime and Fisheries Minister Fadel Muhammad was quoted by the Antara news agency as saying after opening an oceanography conference in Bali.

The minister said that the Indonesian government would contact officials in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) regarding the plan.

Underwater archaeological investigation for ancient vessel in South Sea
Xinhua, 10 May 2010

The submarine archaeological probe on an ancient vessel sunk in the South China Sea near Shan’tou has been going on for about a month. Nearly 1,000 pieces of cultural relics have been retrieved.
Archaeologists say the vessel, known as “Nanao No.1″, contains some very rare and valuable porcelain wares. Most of them were made by two leading workshops in Zhangzhou and Jingdezhen, back to the Song and Ming dynasties. Among those already retrieved from the water, the biggest one is a “China Blue” plate. Its diameter is up to 30 centimeters.

The area where the ship sak is along a very important commercial route of the East Asia, better known as silkroad on the sea. It linked Japan and the Korean peninsula in the north, the Philippines i the east ahd Indonesia in the south.

Editorial: Hidden treasures
Jakarta Post, 08 May 2010

UNESCO Director-General concerned by possible dispersion of objects from 10th century sunken ship in Indonesia
UNESCOPRESS, 06 May 2010

UNESCO chief concerned by auction of ancient artifacts
Jakarta Post, 06 May 2010

The Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, expressed concern about negotiations to sell a large number of artefacts salvaged from the wreck of a 10th century ship lying off the coast of Java (Indonesia). The sale of the cargo by the Indonesian government was originally set for today 5 May in Jakarta but it was postponed for lack of a buyer.

“It would be unfortunate to allow heritage of such historical and archaeological value to be scattered, thereby depriving both scientists and the general public of access to an exceptional collection. Exploiting an archaeological site and dispersing its artefacts is an irreversible process. Yet the contents of the shipwreck found off the coast of the city of Cirebon have much to tell us about cultural and commercial exchanges in the region at that time,” said Ms Bokova. “UNESCO, through its 2001 Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage, urges States to safeguard sunken heritage and to make it available for scientific study and public enjoyment. We therefore encourage the Indonesian government to make every effort to ensure that thorough scientific examination of the site is carried out and the artefacts are presented in museums. Evidently UNESCO stands ready to lend its expertise in museology and conservation to the Indonesian authorities.”

Located by a private exploration company in 2004 off the coast of Cirebon in northern Java, the ship is thought to have foundered in the 10th century as it sailed to Java from Sumatra. More than 270,000 artefacts (Chinese ceramics, religious objects, jewellery, gold coins, pottery etc) were salvaged from the wreck, giving the discovery exceptional historical value. In 2007, a mission of experts from UNESCO visited the site where the finds are stored. The experts underlined their historical importance and the need to conserve them in suitable conditions. They offered to help the Indonesian government preserve the artefacts, which are particularly fragile when they are brought out of the water.

The Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage, adopted by UNESCO in 2001, entered into force in January 2009. It aims to ensure better protection of underwater wrecks and ruins. The treaty represents the international community’s response to the increase in looting and destruction of underwater cultural heritage, which technological progress has placed within the reach of treasure hunters.

The Convention is based on four principles: the obligation to preserve underwater cultural heritage; in situ preservation, i.e. underwater, as a preferred option; no commercial exploitation of artefacts; and cooperation by States on protecting this heritage, promoting training in underwater archaeology and raising public awareness. The Convention’s Annex contains practical rules concerning activities directed at underwater cultural heritage.

The Convention currently numbers 31 States Parties. UNESCO hopes that Indonesia will ratify the Convention and offers its assistance to facilitate the process.

Ancient treasures set for auction in Indonesia
AFP, 02 May 2010

Little Interest in Indonesian Treasure
AFP, via Jakarta Globe, 04 May 2010

Indonesia treasure auction fails to attract bidders
BBC News, 05 May 2010

Sunken Treasure Auction Flops
Bernama, 05 May 2010

Government Requests UNESCO’s Help in Auctioning Treasures
Tempo Interaktif, 05 May 2010

Indonesian Auction Of Ancient Treasures Falls Flat
AP, via NPR, 05 May 2010

Auction to go ahead despite mounting protests
Jakarta Globe, 05 May 2010

An auction of a 10th-century treasure trove worth an estimated 80 million dollars was in doubt Tuesday after Indonesian officials said no potential buyers had paid the hefty deposit required to bid.

The gems, crystal ware, gold and porcelain salvaged from an unidentified wreck off Cirebon, West Java, in 2004 is due to be sold in one lot by the Indonesian government in Jakarta on Wednesday.

Expressions of interest have come from collectors around Asia but none has paid the 16-million-dollar deposit, or 20 percent of the minimum sale price of 80 million dollars, by Monday’s deadline, officials said.

“There are 20 interested participants, including some from overseas. Those from abroad come from Singapore, Beijing, Hongkong, Malaysia and Japan,” Maritime Affairs Ministry official Sudirman Saad said.

“So far none of the interested parties has put down the security deposit but we will still hold the auction tomorrow … If there are no buyers we’ll propose a second auction.”