After more than 150 years, the ancient ship "Yangtze Estuary No. 2" has been rediscovered

At about 0:00 on November 21, 2022, the Hengsha waters of the Yangtze River Estuary witnessed a new historic breakthrough in China's underwater archeology. A 48-meter-long, 19-meter-wide structure composed of 22 giant arc-shaped beams. The caisson, which is 9 meters high and weighs about 8,800 tons, carries the ancient ship. After nearly three hours of continuous lifting under water, the salvage engineering ship "Endeavor" slowly emerged from the water in the middle of the moon pool. The mast of the ancient ship is clearly visible. The ancient ship was Seen again after more than 150 years. In a few days, the ancient ship No. 2 at the Yangtze River Estuary will be brought to the No. 1 Dockyard at the former site of the Shanghai Shipyard in Yangpu by the "Fenli" ship, ushering in a new stage of cultural relic protection and archaeological excavation.

At the salvage site, the "Yangtze River Estuary No. 2" is being lifted out of the river

At the salvage site, the "Yangtze River Estuary No. 2" is being lifted out of the river

Cultural relics Archaeological discovery: filling the gap in ancient ships of the late Qing Dynasty

In 2015, under the guidance of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, the Shanghai Municipal Cultural Relics Bureau organized the Archaeological Research Center of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, the Shanghai Cultural Relics Protection Research Center and other units to conduct research on the Yangtze River During a key underwater archaeological survey in the Hengsha waters of Chongming, Kou, an ancient wooden ship was discovered through sonar scanning and other technologies. The archaeological number was "Yangtze Estuary No. 2". In order to further understand the nature and age of the ancient ship No. 2 at the Yangtze Estuary, starting in 2016, domestic professional institutions such as the Archaeological Research Center of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage and the Shanghai Cultural Relics Protection Research Center have conducted underwater archaeological surveys and multi-disciplinary surveys on the ancient ship every year. Research.

Multi-beam sonar map of the ancient ship No. 2 at the Yangtze River Estuary

After seven years of underwater archaeological survey and exploration, the basic situation of the ancient ship No. 2 at the Yangtze River Estuary has been ascertained. Ancient Ship No. 2 at the Yangtze River Estuary is a wooden sailing ship, confirmed to date from the Tongzhi period of the Qing Dynasty. The water depth is 8-10 meters. The hull is buried in 5.5 meters of mud. The remaining length is about 38.1 meters and the width is about 9.9 meters. It has been proven that there are 31 cabins. The bow, cable piles, main mast, left and right sides of the upper part of the ancient ship are structurally intact. Judging from the current survey, it is most likely that it is a sand ship widely used in Shanghai during the Qing Dynasty. Through small-scale cleaning of 4 cabins, neatly stacked Jingdezhen kiln porcelain and other exquisite cultural relics were found in the cabins. There are many kinds and large quantities of cultural relics that have been completely discharged or can be repaired. In addition, a large number of cultural relics such as purple sand vessels, Vietnamese hookah cans, wooden bucket fragments, masts, large ship materials, iron anchors, brown cables, pulleys and building materials were also found in and around the hull. In particular, the bottom of the green-glazed cup that came out of the water has the inscription "Tongzhi Year" written on it, which provides an important basis for the dating of the ancient ship. In 2021 and 2022, the Shanghai Municipal Cultural Relics Bureau organized underwater archaeological professional institutions to conduct underwater surveys twice on and around the Yangtze Estuary Ancient Ship No. 2, and cleared out Yuan Dynasty porcelain and 60 cm high porcelain that had not been discovered in previous surveys. Complete large bean green glazed blue and white vase and other large complete vessels, as well as a batch of ceramics produced in Yixing Kiln, Jiangsu Province.

Simulation of an ancient ship

White blue and white Panasonic Gao Shitu amphorae with bean green glaze on the ground in Jingdezhen kiln, Tongzhi period of Qing Dynasty

Bean green glaze bowl of Jingdezhen kiln, Tongzhi period of Qing Dynasty

Qing Tongzhi Jingdezhen Kiln Blue and White Variant Ganoderma Pattern Small Cup

Qing Tongzhi Blue and White Dragon Pattern Cup

Nineteenth Century Kiln Mouth Blue Glaze Hookah Jar in Vietnam

It can be said that the Yangtze Estuary Ancient Ship No. 2 is another landmark discovery in China’s underwater archeology. It is currently the largest, most complete, and richly preserved ship-borne cultural relics discovered in China and even in the world. One of the ancient wooden shipwrecks, it fills the gap in the research on large wooden sailing ships in the late Qing Dynasty in my country and is a precious cultural heritage. At the same time, Yangtze Estuary No. 2 is also the first ancient ship that underwater archaeologists actively discovered and conducted archaeological surveys during the national underwater cultural relics census. The integrity of the hull and the rich cultural relics on board have a profound impact on the history of shipbuilding and shipping in China and even the world. The study of history, ceramic history, and economic history is of great significance.

Integration of scientific and technological innovation: the world's first salvage technology was successful

From the discovery to the underwater investigation to the overall salvage of the Yangtze Estuary No. 2 ancient ship, technological empowerment has always been the key to promoting the ancient ship. An important method and core driving force for ship archeology and cultural relics protection work. In the Yangtze Estuary, where the river and the sea meet with almost zero visibility, searching for underwater cultural heritage is like looking for a needle in a haystack. The turbid water environment is a bottleneck that is extremely difficult to overcome in the development of underwater archeology in China and even the world. At the beginning of the underwater archaeological work, the Shanghai Municipal Administration of Cultural Heritage organized archaeologists and scientific and technological workers from the Archaeological Research Center of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, the Shanghai Cultural Relics Protection Research Center, Shanghai University, the National Underwater Cultural Heritage Protection Ningbo Base and other institutions to carry out Through cross-border cooperation and joint research, we independently developed the "Underwater Imaging Device for Muddy Waters" that obtained a national patent, and developed the "Key Technologies and Applications of Robotic Underwater Archaeological Equipment" that won the second prize of the Shanghai Science and Technology Award, and comprehensively applied Marine geophysical exploration equipment such as unmanned boats, multi-beam sonar, side-scan sonar, shallow stratigraphic profilers and magnetometers are used to conduct underwater surveys in the waters of the Yangtze Estuary. The integration and development of technological innovation has become the most important factor in discovering the ancient ship No. 2 in the Yangtze Estuary.

After the State Administration of Cultural Heritage agreed to adopt an overall salvage method to protect the ancient ship No. 2 at the Yangtze Estuary, the Shanghai Municipal Administration of Cultural Heritage, together with the Shanghai Salvage Bureau of the Ministry of Transport, integrated the world's most advanced salvage technology and technical routes. , equipment manufacturing, and finally researched and formed the world's first "arc beam non-contact integral migration technology of cultural relics" to salvage this ancient ship. This technology is a new salvage solution proposed based on bold scientific research and technological innovation. It creatively integrates nuclear arc beam processing technology, tunnel shield excavation technology, immersed tube tunnel docking technology, and uses hydraulic synchronous lifting technology. , integrated monitoring system and other currently the world's most advanced high-tech technologies. In addition, in order to smoothly and safely lift the caisson formed by the arc beam and escort it to the dock smoothly, a special salvage engineering ship "Endeavor" was creatively designed and built. The main dimensions of "Fenli Wheel" are 130 meters long, 34 meters wide, 9 meters deep, with a designed draft of 6 meters. Both ends are equipped with synchronous lifting devices. It opens in the middle of the ship and has a moon pool 56 meters long and 20 meters wide. . The arc-shaped girder caisson loaded with the ancient ship after the beam was passed was directly lifted from the seabed to the central moon pool by the "Endeavor Wheel", and then transferred and unloaded to the dock. One ship completed the three tasks of lifting, transporting and unloading, and was safe. It has many advantages such as high performance, strong operability and high technological content.

Dalihao and Endeavor

The scene of the arc beam passing through the beam

The scene of the arc beam passing through the beam

The scene of the arc beam passing through the beam Site

Arc beam passing through the beam site

On September 6 this year, the main operation ship "Dali" of the Yangtze River Estuary No. 2 ancient ship integral salvage project arrived in the waters where the ancient ship is located, officially Carry out the overall salvage and archaeological protection work of ancient ships. On September 12, the "end plate-longitudinal beam" combined frame dedicated to the overall salvage of the ancient ship was lowered to the designed position. On September 29, offshore construction entered the stage of installing arc beams, and the first set of 22 sets of arc beams was officially lowered. On November 15, the 22nd set of arc beams were put into place. On November 17, the special engineering ship "Fenli" arrived in the waters where the ancient ship is located, and the overall salvage has entered a critical stage. After more than 70 days of hard work at sea, the ancient ship was successfully salvaged as a whole. Despite the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic, the overall salvage of the Yangtze Estuary No. 2 ancient ship can still be successfully implemented in 2022. On the one hand, it relies on Shanghai's high-end manufacturing capabilities and efficient organizational capabilities. On the other hand, it also proves the pioneering arc The advancement, stability and safety of shaped beam salvage technology. These technologies, applied for the first time in the field of archeology and cultural relics protection, fully reflect the integrated development of cultural relics protection and scientific and technological innovation, provide new methods, open up new ideas, and add new cases to the overall salvage model of underwater archeology, and provide new insights into the world's underwater archeology. It provides Chinese concepts and Chinese experience.

Pictures of the salvage site

Salvage site in the waters of the ancient ship ruins

Salvage site in the waters of the ancient ship ruins