Ming shipwreck to be salvaged later this year

A 400-year-old shipwreck off the coast of Guangdong province in China, though to date to the Ming Dynasty, will be salvaged by Chinese archaeologists later this year. The find will shed light on Chinese trading activity during the reign of the Wanli emperor (1573-1620), particularly since a ban on sea trade was imposed.

China to salvage 400-year-old merchant vessel off southern coast
Xinhua, 11 March 2009

Chinese archaeologists will start later this year to salvage a ship thought to be a Ming Dynasty merchant vessel that sank off the Guangdong coast 400 years ago, the State Administration of Cultural Heritage (SACH) said Wednesday.

The SACH approved the excavation plan early this year, it said in a statement to Xinhua. The administration hasn’t yet announced all details of the salvage plan, but the Guangdong provincial cultural heritage department will organize an excavation team, the statement said.