Shipwrecked!: Chapter Three

Among many other revelations, the underwater discoveries at Antikythera, Cape Gelidonya, and Uluburun led to vital new information about the nature of ships and maritime trading in the ancient Mediterranean world.

A South Korean fisherman named Choi Hyuongyeun, while plying his trade in the deep South Korean waters of what are today known as the Shinan Islands, discovered six heavily encrusted ceramic vases entangled in his nets.

Spotting the vases, he chipped the encrustation off one of them and was convinced what he was holding in his hands was celadon, an extremely valuable East Asian stoneware characterized by its beautiful blue-green glaze.

In fact, they said, fishermen in the area had been pulling up objects like these and giving them to their neighbors, who mostly used them to hold dog food.
Unsatisfied with the local authorities’ assessment, Choi’s brother took the vases to much higher authorities in the South Korean capital of Seoul, who had a much different reaction.

All the vases were then taken to South Korea’s Cultural Properties Preservation Bureau, which immediately identified them as authentic celadons from the Yuan dynasty (1271–1368), established by the legendary Mongolian leader Kublai Khan.

All the vases were then taken to South Korea’s Cultural Properties Preservation Bureau, which immediately identified them as authentic celadons from the Yuan dynasty (1271–1368), established by the legendary Mongolian leader Kublai Khan.

It did not take long for the Cultural Properties Bureau to send down divers to probe the area where the celadon vases had been accidentally hauled in.

It did not take long for the Cultural Properties Bureau to send down divers to probe the area where the celadon vases had been accidentally hauled in.

As they descended, no one had the slightest inkling that these initial inquiries would lead to what many archaeologists still believe to be the discovery of the largest treasure ship in history and the beginning of marine archaeology in Asia—particularly in East Asia.

But at first glimpse it became obvious that the excavation of the vessel would be enormously challenging. First of all, it was more than sixty-five feet below the surface. Secondly, the tidal currents were particularly strong, continuously turning up the silt and sand of the ocean floor that made visibility almost impossible at times.

Given the circumstances and the fact that the South Korean government was determined to bring as many artifacts from what would be named the Shinan shipwreck to the surface as possible, it was decided that divers from the Ship Salvage Unit (SSU) of the South Korean Navy would carry out the excavation while members of the Cultural Properties Administration would record each artifact as it was brought to the surface.

As they began their work, none of these dedicated individuals had any idea that before this extraordinary excavation was over, more than nine years of effort and 7,500 hours of diving time would be required.

The long and arduous series of excavations that took place between the summers of 1976 and 1984 included 9,800 working days.

They began with the installation of an enormous aluminum frame directly over the wreck of the ship itself and the wide surrounding area, which, as in the case of most shipwrecks, contained materials and objects that had been aboard the vessel when it crashed down to the ocean floor.

After many dives and many calculations made aboard the surface vessel, it was determined that the ship had been almost 112 feet long, some thirty-six feet wide, slightly more than thirteen feet tall, and had a cargo capacity of about two hundred tons along with the ability to carry hundreds of sailors and passengers.

Among this evidence were the holes that had been built into the vessel’s keel, a typical feature of ships made in China’s Fujian province.

And the number, variety, and quality of the objects that were found were nothing less than staggering: 20,664 items made of porcelain, 28 tons of coins, 729 metal objects, 43 stone objects, 1,017 pieces of red sandalwood, and thousands of other objects including 360 information-bearing wooden tablets.

Incredibly, after experiencing what must have been a devastating series of violent crashes against rocks and boulders during a more than sixty-foot drop to the ocean floor, and more than seven hundred years beneath the seas, not only were much of the contents of the crates still fully intact but so were the crates, including the wrapping string.

Incredibly, after experiencing what must have been a devastating series of violent crashes against rocks and boulders during a more than sixty-foot drop to the ocean floor, and more than seven hundred years beneath the seas, not only were much of the contents of the crates still fully intact but so were the crates, including the wrapping string.

Several of the huge boxes had the words GREAT GOOD LUCK still written upon them, while inscribed on the top of another was the pattern for the Chinese game of Go, obviously played by the sailors during the voyage.

To the archaeologists, the items inside the crates were immensely important. The items attached to the crates, however, were even more vital to the excavation’s goals.

Called tablets, these long wooden tags ranged from six to sixteen inches in length and up to one-and-a-half inches in width.

When the hundreds of tags that had sunk with the Shinan ship were brought to the surface, archaeologists studied the information on each of them for hours on end and then shared with archaeologists, historians, and scientists from around the globe, all of whom credited this unique information with providing invaluable and unprecedented insight into maritime trade in the medieval Asian world.

The enormous amount of celadon ware found, including dishes, vases, pictures, and a huge number of exquisite celadon figurines, the likes of which had never been seen before, was extraordinary.

Dates inscribed on many of the coins provided the most conclusive proof of the time in which the ship had sailed and had met with disaster.

The twenty-eight tons of coins were of immense value, and so, too, were the over one thousand rosewood logs that filled a large part of the trading vessel’s hold.

Used to make high-quality furniture, artworks, and statues of Buddha, rosewood (also known as mahogany) was in high demand among those who could afford it.

To those who based the value of the objects salvaged from a shipwreck on their resale value, the Shinan vessel was indeed a treasure ship.

For archaeologists and all others who regarded the real value of excavating shipwrecks to be something more than monetary reward, the Shinan ship was also a treasure ship.

After studying the artifacts and reading what had already been learned from them she stated, “It must have been a tragic accident, but ironically it is a treasure ship to us offering a window to the life and cultural exchanges of the time.”

Known as haenyeo (“sea women” in Korean), these divers lived in the Korean province of Jeju.

The first accounts of women divers did not appear until the 1600s, when stories of Jeju women, some in their eighties and all capable of holding their breath for more than a minute, dove as deep as ninety-eight feet in order to harvest oysters, abalone, conch, octopus, and other foods from the ocean bottom.

The first accounts of women divers did not appear until the 1600s, when stories of Jeju women, some in their eighties and all capable of holding their breath for more than a minute, dove as deep as ninety-eight feet in order to harvest oysters, abalone, conch, octopus, and other foods from the ocean bottom.

By the 1700s, women divers from Jeju and surrounding islands outnumbered their male counterparts, due in great measure to the fact that so many Korean men had died during wars or deep-sea fishing accidents.

Harvests brought up from the deep by the haenyeo accounted for 60 percent of Jeju’s total revenue from its fisheries, and haenyeo women became the main revenue-earners in their families.

“[These] women,” states professional diver Kimi Werner, “dive down to get food from the sea and sustain their whole community. They understand [the ocean] like the backs of their hands. What’s in season, what’s not in season.”

“When you are down there underwater,” she explains, “harvesting by hand, it teaches you respect. You’re coming home with enough to support your family, enough to support your community—and no more [than that].”

The numbers imprinted on coins tell us about the number system used by the country that issued them and what they were worth when they were made.

Another important contribution that coins make to our historical knowledge is that by allowing us to compare currency from a particular country or region over the years we can trace conquests or upheavals in governments through changes in the official language used on their coins.

Another important contribution that coins make to our historical knowledge is that by allowing us to compare currency from a particular country or region over the years we can trace conquests or upheavals in governments through changes in the official language used on their coins.