Gradually revealing the origin of the 'ancient ship' on Hoi An coast

On the afternoon of May 7, speaking with Thanh Nien reporter, Mr. Pham Phu Ngoc, Director of Hoi An Cultural Heritage Management and Conservation Center ( Quang Nam ), said that the unit had sent a report to Hoi An City People's Committee about the origin of the "ancient ship" discovered on Cam An beach after a long period of investigation, survey and sample analysis.

Dating back hundreds of years

Survey results and analysis of the ancient ship model show that the ancient ship lies beneath the coastal sand dunes, next to a red dirt road built by the French. Many sections of road near the ship's location today have no trace left, due to sea erosion.

Through maps, satellite images from many periods and the memories of many local people, the location of the ship is not only deep under the sand dunes but also discovered in 1905, this location could be about 700 - 800 m from the water's edge. The time when the ship sank or was abandoned most likely happened several centuries ago (if taking the time frame of 1905).

This shows that from the 20th century until now, Hoi An sea has been increasingly eroded. In addition, the initial results of pollen spore analysis indicate that the ship was sunk (or abandoned) at a time when this area was a sea, not a river.

Dần hé lộ lai lịch 'tàu cổ' ở bờ biển Hội An- Ảnh 1. — Part of the hull of the "ancient ship" emerges when the tide goes out.

Through the characteristics of the ship, it can be seen that the structure of the ship shows the characteristics of the traditional East Sea boat structure. This is a hybrid boat integrating two advanced shipbuilding techniques of Southeast Asia and China.

Specifically, according to the Hoi An Cultural Heritage Management and Conservation Center, the ancient ship discovered on the coast of Cam An shows some typical features of traditional Southeast Asian ship structures such as: having a bow (bridge), having many layers of planks (at least 2 layers), planks covering the bow; using tropical wood as the main structure of the hull and skeleton of the ship such as Lagerstroemia wood (sang le) as giang, Kien Kien wood as planks.

Some typical features of traditional Chinese ship structures include: transverse bulkheads dividing the ship into many compartments, rafters, iron nails, the technique of nailing iron nails diagonally to the edge of the planks; using temperate pine wood for transverse bulkheads and rafters.

Because the ship has not been fully revealed, the overall size of the ship cannot be determined accurately, most likely the ship is about 17.8 m long.

Extremely rare ancient ship "treasure"

According to the Hoi An Center for Cultural Heritage Management and Preservation, although the absolute age has not been determined by C14, the location where the ship was discovered was deep inland, along with the deep similarity in structural features, construction techniques and building materials with traditional shipwrecks discovered in the Southeast Asian sea, shows a high possibility that the ancient ship in Cam An sea dates from the late 14th to the 16th century.

Therefore, the existence of the Cam An ship is not only a testament to a vibrant maritime history before contact with Western maritime shipping, but also an extremely rare "treasure" of an ancient ship that is still preserved quite intact, not only in Vietnam but also in Southeast Asia and East Asia.

Dần hé lộ lai lịch 'tàu cổ' ở bờ biển Hội An- Ảnh 2. — Part of an ancient ship discovered on Cam An beach

The ancient ship discovered on the coast of Cam An is a unique and vivid physical evidence of a bustling period of trade in the East Sea. In particular, the sea of Hoi An for centuries held a strategic position on the international maritime route connecting East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, Southwest Asia, the West and was part of the "Sea Trade Route".

The discovery of this ship is an important archaeological discovery, opening up opportunities for research on the maritime and commercial history of Hoi An sea in particular and Vietnam sea in general. At the same time, it shows that this ship is an extremely valuable maritime cultural heritage of Vietnam, contributing to enriching the cultural heritage treasure in Hoi An.

A leader of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Quang Nam province said that the department has assigned the task of excavating the ancient ship discovered on the coast of Cam An to Hoi An City. However, for some reasons, the authorities are being cautious and will only proceed with the excavation when conditions are right.

As Thanh Nien reported, on the morning of December 26, 2023, local people discovered the frame of a wooden ship that looked like an ancient ship gradually emerging from the sand on the coast of Cam An Ward. The location where the ship was discovered is close to the coast, about 400 meters from the ward People's Committee headquarters.

At the time of discovery, the wreck measured about 15 meters long and 3 meters wide. The wooden frame surrounding the hull emerged from the sand, forming a shape around the hull, looking like an ancient ship.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/dan-he-lo-lai-lich-tau-co-o-bo-bien-hoi-an-185250507162003496.htm