The shipwreck of Nan’ao No. 1

The shipwreck of Nan’ao No. 1 was discovered near Nan’ao Island off the coast of Shantou City in Guangdong, China.

The structure of the ship is almost complete with 25 shifting boards, approximately 27m long and 7.5 wide. In its hull over twenty thousand artefacts were discovered (primarily blue and white porcelainsmdragon patterned jars, potteries, iron wares and copper wares), as well as soil samples, metal samples, and remains of animals and plants were also recovered.

As one of the Great 10 National Archaeological New Finds of 2010, the Nan'ao No. I project has been singled out as being of special importance for the research of foreign trades in the late Ming dynasty, on the Maritime Silk Road, as well as a successful exercise of the development and practice of underwater archaeology in China. It greatly raises the public awareness on underwater cultural heritage.