In the South China Sea region of the mainland, there are many shipwrecks, some of which have been salvaged ashore, and some of which are still sleeping under the water.
Among the many shipwrecks, there is one shipwreck that is particularly interesting, which is the "South China Sea One" that has been successfully salvaged.
This is an ancient ship from 800 years ago, which is not corrupted in the water for many years, and the state spent hundreds of millions of dollars to salvage it. There are 180,000 treasures in the water, how valuable are they?
The story begins in 1987, when the British Maritime Expedition Salvage Company, in order to salvage a shipwreck originally belonging to the East India Company, conducted a joint salvage operation with the Guangzhou Rescue and Salvage Bureau on the mainland.
When the two sides were working in the South China Sea, they did not find the ship belonging to the East India Company, but instead found another ancient shipwreck that was old, and also salvaged a lot of valuable treasures inside.
The shipwreck was later named "Nanhai One", and when the shipwreck was first discovered, the underwater salvage technology on the mainland, and some were not very mature, and there was no way to carry out the work alone.
Therefore, the salvage proposal on "Nanhai No. 1" was helplessly stranded. After the relevant intelligence of the "Nanhai No. 1" came out, Japanese underwater archaeologists contacted the mainland many times in the hope of conducting a joint investigation.
The experts at the Museum of History thought twice, and finally reluctantly agreed to Japan's application and conducted an underwater operation with them in the South China Sea. This joint salvage, which was later known as the starting point of Underwater Archaeology in China, was also a rather commemorative turning point in history.
However, this time the underwater operation was only an investigation, not a real salvage. After a few years, the mainland's various technologies gradually matured and had the ability to operate underwater.
In order to prevent accidents, the relevant departments decided to salvage the "Nanhai No. 1" shipwreck as a whole. At the beginning, the total budget for salvaging the "Nanhai No. 1" was about 100 million yuan. However, with the continuous development of the work, everyone helplessly found that the salvage cost was much higher than the estimate.
The construction of the temporary pier alone cost more than 14 million yuan. In addition, if you count labor, underwater facilities and steel, it will cost 150 million yuan in total.
Not only that, but we also want to build a crystal palace worth 150 million yuan for the "South China Sea One" shipwreck.
This salvage scheme, regardless of cost, has attracted the attention of many people. Many people think that this is a rather crazy operation.
So, is this salvage worth it? How many treasures have we found in this "South China Sea One" shipwreck?
The salvage of the "Nanhai No. 1" shipwreck did not happen overnight, and has continued for more than 20 years. The experts in charge of this matter found a total of 180,000 artifacts inside. There were plenty of iron, porcelain, and gold inside, and the result surprised everyone.
Experts have unearthed thousands of pieces of porcelain from the "Nanhai No. 1", and many porcelains are extremely exotic, with at least 30 types. Among them, a large part can be rated as national first-class cultural relics or second-class cultural relics.
Most of these porcelains are the fine works of the famous kilns of the Song Dynasty, some from the Dehua kiln, some from Jingdezhen, and some from the Longquan kiln. Take out a few pieces at random, put them at auction, and you can sell them at a very high price.
Among the many gold objects, there is a Song gold necklace up to 1.7 meters long, and a thick gilt bracelet, which is comparable in caliber to a rice bowl.
Experts speculate that the person who wears these gold objects should be a strong, tall and powerful man. In addition, experts also found tens of thousands of ancient copper coins in the wreck of the "Nanhai No. 1". Among them, the latest is the Shaoxing Yuanbao in the Song Gaozong period, and the earliest is the Han Dynasty five-baht coin, these ancient coins have high research value.
Experts speculate that these ancient coins can represent China's national strength at that time to a certain extent, and can also represent the wealth of the owners of the "Nanhai No. 1".
The site of the "Nanhai No. 1" shipwreck happens to be a key node in the Maritime Silk Road. Experts believe that the "Nanhai No. 1" shipwreck should be a cargo ship departing from a Chinese port and sailing abroad.
The porcelain in the shipwreck should be a cargo for sale to the outside world, which was very common in ancient times. Chinese porcelain, in the feudal period, was a very famous thing. Foreign aristocrats generally pride themselves on owning a piece of Chinese porcelain. Therefore, many foreign businessmen often come to China from thousands of miles to do business.
The archaeological research of the "Nanhai No. 1" shipwreck on the mainland also has quite special value, which can restore the history of the Maritime Silk Road to a certain extent, and can also provide valuable physical information for the history of navigation and ceramics on the mainland.
This information is quite valuable, and it is all precious material that terrestrial archaeology cannot find.
The salvage process of the "Nanhai No. 1" shipwreck is also a very important experience for the mainland.
Beginning in 1987, the mainland spent more than 20 years salvaging and studying the wreck of the Nanhai No. 1. Its discovery and salvage are full of twists and turns and wonders, just like the underwater archaeological process in China.
When we first started, we didn't have a professional underwater archaeology device, and we didn't have a person who specialized in underwater archaeology.
Everyone is starting from scratch, relying on the spirit of continuous research and struggle, and continues to struggle underwater. In the end, the continent's underwater archaeological capabilities improved by leaps and bounds, surpassing many Western countries.
After the wreck of the "Nanhai No. 1" was salvaged, it was transferred to the Guangdong Maritime Silk Road Museum. The leaders of the relevant departments specially built a valuable crystal palace for the wreck, and regularly cared for the wreck to avoid unnecessary damage due to changes in the environment.
Speaking of which, some people may feel confused, the South China Sea shipwreck has been soaked in the seabed for more than 800 years, why has it not completely decayed before?
Professor Xu, who once served in the School of Biological Sciences of Sun Yat-sen University, publicly explained that the "Nanhai No. 1" shipwreck was soaked for 800 years, and there was no reason for decay, there may be two.
First, the environment is special, after the sinking of the "South China Sea No. 1" to the seabed, it was soon wrapped in a large amount of silt, the hull was basically isolated from the external environment, and it has maintained an anaerobic environment, and it is difficult for microorganisms to survive and there is no way to corrode the hull.
Second, "Nanhai No. 1" uses pine wood, which is a shipbuilding material with good soaking resistance, and the folk have long ago had the saying of "blistering thousand-year pine, wind blowing ten thousand years of fir".
If the "Nanhai No. 1" shipwreck is not salvaged and is still sealed on the seabed, it can be preserved for many years.
Overall, the "Nanhai One" shipwreck is a treasure of great value. Experts have assessed that the total value of the cultural relics of the "Nanhai No. 1" shipwreck may exceed hundreds of billions of DOLLARs. The country's original salvage work was a veritable profit.