Longquan
shipwreck, Ming Dynasty of China,
sunk in South China Sea, probably
dated in the late
14th century, located 15 nautical miles from the
nearest Malaysian Island, this extreme depth
requires
specialised diving equipment that is not immediately
available.
The
wreck remains
and its mixed ceramics cargo does
certainly warrant detailed excavation...it's
a large
wreck, seemingly measuring more than
30
meters in length, with a beam of 8
meters... the
construction confirmed it to be Chinese...
it's
noteworthy
that the wreck is largely intact,
thus
is will provide details on shipbuilding, architectural
design,
building materials used at that
time.
Based
on the cargo volume of the vessel, it could hold
more than 100,000 pieces of ceramics...surface
samples
collected from the overburden included Chinese
celadon, from the
China's Longquan kiln, with
white-glazed porcellaneous bowls, shall be from
Southern China
Province. Thailand is
represented by Sawankhalok
celadons and Sukhothai
underglaze black decorated fish plates.
The
majority of the Sawankhalok celadon wares exhibit
a rare pale bluish-green colour that is unknown on
the Sawankhalok celadon recovered from the other wrecks.
The decoration of these ceramics is more
similar to
wares abroad the "Nanyang" wreck than to the
more
elaborate decoration seen on celadon from the
"Royal Nanhai" cargo.
Based
on the style of the Chinese celadon and beliefs about
the chronology of Sawankhalok
celadon, it is likely
that the "Longquan" sank sometime between
AD1370-1440.
To
excavate the Longquan wreck, in 63 meters
of water,
would be extremely time consuming and difficult
because
of unfavourable environmental conditions and diver
limitations. The
few well-trained divers that could safely
dive the site would do so without the possibility to
share their experiences.
The
Longquan shipwreck
is a remarkable discovery and
can't be left without excavation. It is the largest
vessel
with a full load of ceramics known, 120,000 pieces
of
Ming Dynasty's blue & white.
Following
full
excavation, the
vessel structure could be
reinforced sufficiently to be lifted
out of the water and
placed in that museum. The proposed museum could
then be furnished
with samples
of all shipwreck ceramics
collected over the years ...say,
"Royal Nanhai, Nanyang,
Xuande, Turing, Anates,
Longquan etc... many
more shipwrecks to come, for all
members
to
see and share.
