China has a long history of navigation. It has been recorded since the time of Qin Shihuang. At that time, Xu Fu deceived Qin Shihuang to go to sea to find immortals. He said that the ship he took could accommodate 3,000 childhood virgins. This is a bit nonsense. If such a giant ship could be built at that time, Qin Shihuang would have been there long ago.
It swept the world.
But it is undeniable that during the Qin Dynasty, China had ocean-going shipbuilding technology, and by the Soochow period of the Three Kingdoms, there were even records: the captain was more than 20 feet long, 3 feet above the water, and the largest building ship could carry
3,000 people, and the smallest one can carry 80 horses.
Although the description is a bit exaggerated, we can also see the advanced shipbuilding technology at that time. Even if it is shrunk ten times, a large ship that can accommodate 300 people and 8 horses is not too small.
After the Silk Road was opened in the Tang Dynasty, maritime trade also increased. There was an article describing that the large ships of the Tang Dynasty could not enter the Basra Port due to their large hulls and deep drafts, so they had to change to small boats from India. Such records
The credibility is very high.
Of course, maybe the construction of Basra Port at that time was too crude, but the navigation technology of the Tang Dynasty could definitely be ranked among the top three in the world at that time.
The reason why Zhuang Rui said this was a shipwreck from the Song Dynasty was mainly based on two points.
The first point is that the commerce of the Song Dynasty was even better than that of the Tang Dynasty, and navigation technology had been further improved. Moreover, the land Silk Road was cut off at that time, and the huge trade returns continued to stimulate the Song Dynasty.
Merchants develop trade.
Chinese people have had a spirit of adventure since ancient times. In the Song Dynasty, under relatively loose national policies, people were constantly trying to open up new shipping routes. However, opening up new shipping routes was extremely difficult and dangerous. While making profits, one could also be killed at any time.
sea.
The opening of new sea routes must pay a heavy price, that is, shipwrecks. During the opening of new sea routes, many adventurous merchants and cargo ships will sink in the sea. The more developed commercial trade is, the more shipwrecks there will be. The Song Dynasty fits this
Features.
By the time of the Ming Dynasty, because Ming Taizu was the only emperor in Chinese history who was born into extreme poverty, he wanted to restore a simple agricultural society where "chickens and dogs heard each other's voices, and they never interacted with each other until they died."
In the early years of the Ming Dynasty, in order to consolidate the newly established Zhu Dynasty and prevent overseas intrusion, a strict sea ban policy was implemented, stipulating that "nothing is allowed to enter the sea". Therefore, so far, there are more shipwrecks discovered by archeology in the Song Dynasty, and very few in the Ming Dynasty.
.
Coupled with the fact that some relevant documents and materials gave extremely detailed descriptions of the modeling characteristics of Song Dynasty ships, Zhuang Rui concluded that this sunken ship on the seabed should be a merchant ship from the Song Dynasty.
As the deep-sea robots continue to approach, the entire ship becomes clearer. The bow and stern are sharp-angled, about thirty meters long, and the width should be about ten meters. However, the height of the hull cannot be measured, because
Half of the entire ship was buried under the sand on the seabed.
"Thirty meters long? This...isn't this bigger than the Nanhai No. 1 sunken ship announced by the country some time ago?"
The nature of Zhang Gong's job is to work at sea, and he is no stranger to news about some ocean shipwrecks. What he is talking about is Nanhai No. 1, a Song Dynasty shipwreck discovered by the country in the waters of Yangjiang in 1987.
In 2002, more than 4,000 gold, silver, copper, iron, and porcelain cultural relics were salvaged from the Nanhai No. 1. They were all rare treasures and caused a sensation in the world of archaeology at that time.
Although the ship is still sinking at the bottom of the sea, according to investigation data, the length of the ship is only about thirty meters, and may not be as big as the one on the screen in front of you.
"It is entirely possible that the ship sank in the inland sea, and this one is obviously an ocean-going ship. It is also possible that it is larger..."
Zhuang Rui knew about the Nanhai No. 1, but it was salvaged with government funds. It was said that it cost 160 million but could not be fished out. Zhuang Rui did not want to join in the fun, and it would not do him any good to fish it out.
As the submersible approached, the hull became clearer and clearer. The huge hull showed a slightly reddish color under the light, and even the broken mast could be seen clearly.
The broken mast must have been caused by the storm and the inability to lower the sails. Judging from the intactness of the ship, it is very likely that the entire ship was overturned, because apart from the broken mast, the hull did not seem to have any damage.
What damage was done.
"There is something, there is something on the boat, there is something in the mud next to it..."
A staff member pointed at the screen and shouted loudly. Needless to say, everyone else saw that in the cabin that was supposed to have a ceiling, there were countless pieces of porcelain with a faint luster.
Moreover, on the flat seabed around the ship's hull, you can vaguely see some utensils inserted in the sea sand. They are not only porcelain, but judging from the luster emitted by some objects under the light, they are most likely gold and silver utensils.
Zhang Gong controlled the submersible and circled the Song Dynasty sunken ship extremely carefully, taking many photos from different angles.
It can be clearly seen from the screen that in the center of the cabin, there are at least tens of thousands of ceramic gold and silverware. Everyone in the room was mesmerized by the sight. Although they were not collectors, they could still feel it.
, which is an extremely huge wealth.
"Mr. Zhuang, you have gained a lot this time..."
Zhang Gong's face was full of envy. He knew the relevant rules of the salvage law announced by the International Maritime Organization. All sunken ships salvaged from this sea area will belong to Zhuang Rui, even though they belong to the Song Dynasty of China.
The ship sank, but the country could not recover it.
In other words, as long as this boatload of treasures of inestimable value can be salvaged, it will be Zhuang Rui's personal property. It would be impossible if Zhang Gong didn't have a little envy in his heart.
"These belong to China, these are the treasures left by China..."
Zhuang Rui was also a little excited. The richness of the collection on this ship far exceeded his previous expectations. Judging from the number of gold and silverware and porcelain found in the sea, it was probably no less than that in the South China Sea.
Collections salvaged from the ship.
You know, according to the assessment of archaeologists, the value of Nanhai No. 1 is comparable to the Shaanxi Terracotta Warriors. So the value of the Song Dynasty sunken ship discovered by Zhuang Rui can be imagined.
If we purely look at the sunken treasure, this ship may not be the most valuable among the sunken ships in the world.
Because in the history of Spanish colonization of the Americas, a total of 250 ships loaded with treasure sank on the coast of the Americas, including three large fleets that sank in 1622, 1715, and 1733 respectively.
Almost all of the ships that sank on their way back to Spain were laden with gold, silver and diamonds looted from various Latin American colonies, with a total value of tens of billions of pounds.
These sunken ships are also Zhuang Rui's next salvage targets. "Back then, the Eight-Power Allied Forces plundered property from our Beijing. Today, Uncle Zhuang went to your high seas to snatch treasures. You are so anxious that there is nothing you can do."
The most valuable sunken ship that was salvaged recently was the USS Central America, which was salvaged from the coast of South Carolina in the 1990s. The treasure on board was worth as much as 800 million pounds. If it were kept today, I'm afraid
It must be worth at least 20 billion RMB.
However, this Song Dynasty shipwreck is of great significance to China and the world's archaeological circles, because there are very few records of the navigation history of more than a thousand years ago in any country. It is of great significance to the study of the social form and navigation technology at that time.
A very valuable role.
Of course, Zhuang Rui had no intention of dedicating this sunken ship to the country, because the emergence of this sunken ship from the Song Dynasty will have a huge impact and far-reaching impact on underwater archeology in China and the world.
Zhuang Rui believes that as long as he salvages the sunken ship and puts it in the museum, it will definitely become a new attraction of the Dingguang Museum. With this sunken ship and the items on the ship, Zhuang Rui is sure to make his museum the best in the world.
private museum.
"To allow ordinary people to understand the history of shipwrecks and enrich their own pockets, this is what I pursue. After all, I am also a poor person..."
Zhuang Rui, who still had more than 100 million euros in cashier's checks remaining from the gambling in his pocket, thought unscrupulously.
"Damn it, we can't let those pirates ruin our salvage plan..."
After Zhuang Rui thought for a while, he told Gong Zhang to continue taking some photos, then he got up and walked out.
"Li Zhen, has the other party done anything?" Zhuang Rui called Shura through the intercom.
"No, Brother Zhuang, don't worry, I will notify you immediately if there is any news..."
Li Zhen was also a little puzzled. According to the content of the call he overheard, the pirates should be able to confirm that there were no weapons on their ship. They didn't know why they still stayed where they were and did not rush towards their own waters.
"Okay, continue to monitor, the sunken ship salvaged this time is very important, there can't be any mistakes..."
After seeing this sunken ship on the seabed, even if he told Zhuang Rui that it was dangerous, he would probably not be willing to leave. Faced with such wealth and such a major discovery, no one would be tempted.
However, the safety of the workers and himself was also very important. Zhuang Rui decided to withdraw everyone into the cabin as soon as there was any disturbance.
After hanging up the phone, Zhuang Rui walked into the platform room, looked at Mr. Zhang and said: "Gong Zhang, check the height of the sinking of the hull and see if the power of the drilling platform can pull it out? After the inspection, take back the dive first.
Tool, let’s hold a meeting to study the specific salvage plan..."
There are too many objects on this sunken ship. If traditional salvage methods are used, the porcelain may be damaged during the salvage process, so Zhuang Rui is planning to make a big move and lift the entire ship from the bottom of the sea at once.
But as a result, the technical difficulty of salvage will also increase, which will be a huge test for Zhuang Rui and the existing equipment.
