Belitung shipwreck (sewn-plank dhow)
Pecio de Belitung (dhow de tablas cosidas)
- Date
- c. 830 (hallado en 1998) · confidence high
- Place
- Batu Hitam, Belitung Island, Bangka-Belitung, Indonesia
- Credited to
- Arab or Indian Ocean shipbuilders; found by local fishermen in 1998
- Field
- Cosmos & Earth
What was discovered
Hull of a ship of planks sewn with coconut fibre, sunk around 830 with some 60,000 pieces of Chinese ceramics, as well as gold and silver. It is the most direct material proof of the direct maritime route between the Persian Gulf and China under the Tang dynasty.
A bowl inscribed with a date equivalent to 826 gives the terminus post quem; the place of construction (Persian Gulf, Oman or India) is debated. The find was bought by Singapore in 2005 after a failed sale attempt and is displayed at the Asian Civilisations Museum.
What it led to
- evidence of Changsha ceramic trade with the Middle East
- maritime archaeology studies of the Maritime Silk Road
- ethical controversy over the sale and display of the find