A fisherman discovered multiple ceramic pieces in the waters off Quang Ngai Province in central Vietnam, showing the traces of an ancient shipwreck.

In the past, Quang Ngai had a trading port that operated for centuries, so the floor of the sea in the province is dubbed a ‘cemetery of ancient shipwrecks,' according to experts.

Dr. Nguyen Tuan Lam, a marine archeologist, said that shipwrecks and treasures on board, which are special and rare in the world, have been discovered over the past few years in the province.

In mid-May, border guards checked a boat owned by a fisherman in the waters off Phuoc Thien Village in Binh Hai Commune, discovering 33 ceramic plates and seven bowls on board.

These pieces were fished from an ancient shipwreck 60 meters deep underwater.

Many archeologists determined that they are celadon pottery, referring to ceramics with a soft white-green-colored glaze, originating in Zhangzhou, southern China. They bear the marks of the 16th and 17th centuries under the Ming Dynasty.

Dr. Lam, who participated in excavating ancient ships off Binh Chau in 2013 and Dung Quat in 2019, said that apart from legal excavations, fishermen have discovered and fished many ancient ceramic pieces from the sea, but they failed to report them to officials.

The waters off Quang Ngai Province harbor a huge number of ancient ships, demonstrating the prosperity of the old trading port, he added.

Dr. Nguyen Dang Vu, former director of the Quang Ngai Department of Culture, Sports, and Tourism, said that when he worked with international archaeologists, they presented many explanations for the discoveries of several shipwrecks.

These ships were wrecked off the coasts due to strong waves, sinking, and piracy.

Dr. Lam affirmed that during the excavations, they found that many ships had ceramic pieces arranged evenly on board. Besides, many archeologists saw some badges with the information of the receivers.

“I saw some badges similar to those found in an excavation of a shipwreck in South Korea,” Dr. Lam said.

A ship with numerous treasures discovered along the coast in Binh Hai should be surveyed and protected to prevent fishermen from diving into the sea to fish them in order not to damage the ancient ship.

In 1471, Emperor Le Thanh Ton visited the place where the ancient ship with these ceramic pieces was found.

The site became a defense area with many cannons placed under Emperor Gia Long and Emperor Minh Mang. Officials had earlier fished some cannons out of the sea off the province.

In 2017, during the port construction period, Hao Hung Company discovered a shipwreck with various ceramics at the seabed.

The excavation of the ship was conducted in 2019, with some 10,000 pieces of debris and broken pieces of ceramics. Few objects were found unbroken or undamaged.

These discovered objects stemmed from the Wanli era, literally meaning ‘ten thousand calendars.' These ceramics were produced in some provinces in China.

The Quang Ngai Department of Culture, Sports, and Tourism will hire a company to explore the waters some six kilometers from the coastline in 15 days.

Dr. Doan Ngoc Khoi, deputy director of the Quang Ngai General Museum, said that the exploration will be conducted by highly-skilled divers and robots.

The exploration and survey will be monitored by experts, said Dr. Khoi.

The results, images, and videos of the exploration will be used for a decision on an excavation.

The plan has been submitted to the Quang Ngai administration and the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism.

Many shipwrecks have been discovered in Binh Dinh Province, Quang Nam Province, and Phu Quoc off the Mekong Delta region’s Kien Giang Province, with numerous ceramic pieces on board.

They originated in China, Thailand, and Vietnam in the 14th and 15th centuries. 

Meanwhile, the shipwreck off the Binh Chau coast in Quang Ngai was determined to be from the 13th century.

The ship is some 700 years old.

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