Chinese archaeologists have managed to drag an 800 year-old trading ship, the Nanhai No. 1 (南海一号 ), up from the floor of the South China Sea, complete with a trove of porcelain estimated to be worth billions of dollars. From the Independent:
The ship went down in storms as it left a southern Chinese port to sail the rich trade route known as the ancient Marine Silk Road and was quickly buried in silt, which has preserved the priceless haul of 80,000 relics on board. At 30 metres long and 10 metres wide, it is the largest cargo ship discovered from that golden age of Chinese merchant history.
Salvage experts used a specially designed sealed steel box containing tons of seawater and silt to lift the ship from the seabed while keeping it in the environment in which it has been preserved for hundreds of years. [Full Text]
[Image: A metal box containing the Nanhai No. 1 is lifted from the water, from People’s Net.]
