A ninth-century AD Arab or Indian shipwreck in Indonesia: first evidence for direct trade with China

Abstract

A well-preserved ninth-century AD shipwreck was excavated in 1998-9 off the Indonesian island of Belitung between Sumatra and Borneo. The principal features of the wreck include planks joined by stitching with wadding inside and outside the hull, a sharp bow with little rake, stitched-in frames, through-beams stitched to the hull, removable ceiling timbers, a keelson and stringers, and a composite iron and wood anchor. Ethnographic and iconographic evidence suggests that these are the features of ancient Indian and Arab vessels, an origin which is strongly supported by the timber species identified in the wreck.The cargo consisted almost entirely of Chinese ceramics, mostly from the Changsha kilns. This is the first clear archaeological evidence to support historical records which imply that there was direct trade between the western Indian Ocean and China during the later part of the first millennium AD.