The three words that solved an 800-year-old shipwreck mystery

via News.com.au, 17 May 2018: Chinese inscription provides evidence for a new date to the Java Sea Shipwreck.

AN 800-year-old piece of pottery has helped archaeologists put together fascinating new details about a medieval ship that sank off the coast of Indonesia.

Source: The three words that solved an 800-year-old shipwreck mystery

Revisiting the date of the Java Sea Shipwreck from Indonesia
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2018.04.002

In this article we draw on suites of new information to reinterpret the date of the Java Sea Shipwreck. The ship was a Southeast Asian trading vessel carrying a large cargo of Chinese ceramics and iron as well as luxury items from outside of China, such as elephant tusks and resin. Initially the wreck, which was recovered in Indonesia, was placed temporally in the mid- to late 13th century based on a single radiocarbon sample and ceramic styles. We employ new data, including multiple radiocarbon dates and inscriptions found on some of the ceramics, to suggest that an earlier chronological placement be considered.

See also:

• An 800-year-old label may rewrite the history of a Java Sea shipwreck | Ars Technica, 17 May 2018
• The Java Sea Wreck: New research on an ancient ship | New Mandala, 18 May 2018