Identification and analysis of ancient ship wood excavated at Nantong hydraulic site

Abstract

The Nantong Ancient Ship refers to an ancient Chinese wooden ship of the late Ming Dynasty excavated in Nantong city in December 2022. This paper identifies the wood and discusses its related analysis. Wood samples extracted from the Nantong Ancient Ship were studied from the viewpoints of anatomy, physics, and chemistry. Microscopic identification results concluded that willow and Chinese fir were the main wood species used to make this ship. The content of holocellulose in the ancient wood was only 37.9 to 38.9%, while the content of lignin was 55.2 to 56.4%. The cellulose crystallinity of ancient wood was 39 to 42% lower than that of healthy recent wood. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra revealed that the deterioration of ancient wood caused cellulose and hemicellulose degradation, but no apparent lignin alteration. The results could provide a basis for drawing up a conservation plan for the Nantong Ancient Ship. They could also provide a reference for the research and conservation of other archaeological shipwrecks in China.