This shipwreck can be traced back to the time when Genghis Khan's descendants ruled China.

The ship's hull cracked, indicating that it was hit and flooded, which caused it to crash about 700 years ago. The picture is provided by China Cultural Relics Department. Archaeologists found a sunken ship, which was buried in mud and silt, dating back to the time when descendants of Genghis Khan ruled China about 700 years ago, sometimes from their palaces in the capital.

Although China was ruled by Mongols, China's culture flourished here. Time, artworks and handicrafts found in the wreckage of this 70-foot (265,438+0-meter) long wooden boat show patterns that are very popular in China. The archaeological team led by Wang Shougong wrote that this included a colorful jar depicting dragons and phoenixes.

Archaeologists believe that this ship is used for river travel. This was found on a modern construction site. Its hull is divided into 12 compartments by 12 bulkheads. A paper by Shandong Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology was recently published in China Cultural Relics magazine. Archaeologists said in their newspaper, [see pictures of sunken ships and cultural relics]

Dating back to the Yuan Dynasty (about 127 1- 1368), there were shrines, captain's quarters, crew quarters, cargo holds and a control room that also served as a kitchen. In the hut used as a shrine, archaeologists found a statue of "Lohan" with incense burners and stone carvings on it. In Buddhism, Lohan is an enlightened individual. These statues show the seemingly docile dragon and tiger sitting quietly next to Lohan.

Archaeologists wrote in journal articles that, in general, more than 65,438+000 cultural relics, including porcelain, pottery, lacquerware, jade, iron, bronze and gold, were unearthed from the sunken ship and its surrounding areas. In the crew dormitory, the researchers found "porcelain pots (a kind of pot or kettle), net pendants, scissors, oil lamps and bronze mirrors", they wrote, adding that lacquerware was found in the captain's dormitory and there was grain in the cargo hold.

In the control room that doubles as the kitchen, they found an iron stove, an iron pot, an iron spoon and a wooden chopping block. The archaeologist wrote that the researchers also discovered the ship's control system, including the tiller directly above the deck control room.

At the last moment, "the sediments and cracks around the sunken ship indicate that the ship may sink after being hit and sunk," the researchers wrote:

They didn't guess the fate of the crew; However, no human remains were found in the shipwreck.

In a short time after the accident, the mud under the sunken ship was washed away by the current, [the sunken ship continued to sink 1 meter to 2 meters [3.3 feet to 6.6 feet] lower than the original riverbed, and then stabilized at its current position. Archaeologists wrote that silt and mud were deposited on it and the sunken ship was completely buried.

The sunken ship was excavated by archaeologists from Shandong Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology and Heze Cultural Relics Protection Committee from 20 10 to 20 1 1. 20 16, a Chinese journal article and its results were published in Wu Wen magazine. Recently, this article was translated into English and published in China Cultural Relics magazine.

Originally published in Life Science.

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