The largest overall salvage and relocation project for ancient ships in China was officially launched on the 6th. In the afternoon, as the main operating ship for the overall salvage and relocation project of the Yangtze River Estuary No. 2 ancient ship, the “Dali” slowly departed from Shanghai Hengsha Wharf and set sail for the site of the Yangtze River Estuary No. 2 ancient ship site. In recent years, cultural relics have gradually emerged from the Yangtze River Estuary No. 2 ancient ship underwater in the Beigang Channel in the northeast of Sha Dao. The verified water cultural relics. These porcelain pieces are mostly trade exchange porcelain, with excellent production. They are like pieces of jigsaw puzzle scattered on the seabed, creating a vibrant and culturally diverse social life scene for people in the early days of Shanghai’s opening up. Since the preparation of the overall relocation and salvage project, more than 600 ceramic vessels have been cleaned up. Archaeologists extracted and cleaned up some of the artifacts related to ancient ships during the preliminary underwater investigation and overall migration pre-treatment stage. Most of these ceramics are produced from the Jingdezhen kiln, and some may also be produced from the Yixing kiln in Jiangsu and the kiln mouth in Fujian.
On March 2 this year, the National Cutural Heritage Administration and the Shanghai Municipal Government jointly announced the official launch of the Yangtze River Estuary No. 2 Ancient Ship Archaeology and Cultural Relics Protection Project. It has been clear that the Yangtze River Estuary No. 2 Ancient Ship is a trading merchant ship during the Tongzhi period of the Qing Dynasty, and it is also a wooden sailing boat with the largest volume, the most complete preservation, and a huge number of cultural relics on board. Recently, underwater archaeologists discovered both the rudder and iron anchor on the north side of the ancient ship, providing reference data for the “largest and most complete preservation” of the Yangtze River Estuary No. 2 ancient ship from another perspective.
The rudder of the ancient ship No. 2 at the Yangtze River Estuary has a residual length of about 5.6 meters and a diameter of 42 centimeters. It is also wrapped in 52 iron hoops with a width of about 7 centimeters, which is inferred to be used to reinforce the rudder. The tiller is made of three pieces of wood enclosed by iron hoops, with a maximum length of 6.26 meters. In addition, the iron anchor of the Yangtze River Estuary No. 2 ancient ship is a four claw anchor, approximately 3.3 meters long (excluding the iron ring), which is also the largest ancient four claw iron anchor found in China.
The Yangtze River Estuary No. 2 ancient ship is expected to break through the waves before the end of this year. The “Endeavor” ship will carry the “Embrace” Yangtze River Estuary No. 2 ancient ship to the centennial site of Yangpu Shanghai Shipyard. Archaeologists will carry out subsequent archaeological work, and an ancient ship museum will also be built on site. The ancient ship No. 2 at the mouth of the Yangtze River will settle down by the Huangpu River.