Sea Area with Sunken Relics, Sinan

Basic information

Designation

Historic Site No.274

Category

유적지

Era

고려시대 후기 14세기

Designated year

1981

Location

신안군, 전라남도— 전남 신안군 증도면 방축 위35˚01´15˝경126˚05´06˝

Coordinates

35.023958, 126.085812

This is the sea area where a Chinese merchant ship sank on their way to Japan. A great many relics like the blue porcelain made for offshore trading in the age of the Yuan Dynasty of China were found and lifted from the bottom of the sea. Over a period of 9 years from 1976 to 1984, ten full scale operations were carried out to raise the sunken vessel and its contents from the sea bed. The number of relics lifted and classified in the operation, including ceramic wares, metal goods, stone goods, coins, medicines, and daily living necessities reached a total of 22,000. It is presumed that the sunken ship, which had a length of 28.4 meters and a width of 6.6 meters, was a merchant ship which had left Hangzhou Bay, China, for Japan via Korea. Based on the patterns of the ceramic wares, the coins and the letters written on wood panels it is supposed that the ship sank sometime between 1331 and 1350. These relics from the bottom of sea have a high scientific value from the viewpoint of the heritage of the first half of the 14th century. In particular, it is regarded as very important in identifying when and where they were made, because such a large quantity of ceramic wares from the same year has never before been excavated in the history of underwater archaeology. Accordingly this area is now a core area for the study the culture of oriental ceramic wares, and the history of trading in East Asia.

Location