Revealing the origin of the shipwreck on Cam An beach

The investigation and survey process of specialized agencies with the shipwreck on the coast of Cam An (Hoi An City, Quang Nam) opened up interesting discoveries showing that this ship is likely hundreds of years old.

The area where the shipwreck was discovered on Cam An ward beach at the end of 2023. Photo: QUOC TUAN

Most likely a traditional East Sea ship

According to the Hoi An Center for Cultural Heritage Management and Preservation, ethnographic and archaeological fieldwork shows that the ship's location on the Cam An coast was once located under a coastal sand dune, next to a red dirt road built by the French. Traces of this road today are almost gone in many sections near the ship's location due to sea erosion.

Through maps, satellite images from many periods and memories of many local people, on the one hand, it clearly shows the trend of increasingly strong sea erosion from the 20th century to the present, on the other hand, it also confirms that the location of the old ship was not only deep under the sand dunes, but in 1905, the ship could have been about 700 - 800m from the water's edge.

Therefore, whether the ship was sunk or abandoned, the date of its sinking or abandonment is likely to be at least several centuries earlier than 1905. The analysis results show that the location of the ancient ship is most likely in an ocean area, not a river.

Map of the red stone road and the location of the Cam An ship on the 1905 Tourane map. Photo: Hoi An Cultural Heritage Management Center

A research report by the Hoi An Cultural Heritage Management and Conservation Center in collaboration with the University of Social Sciences and Humanities (Ho Chi Minh City National University) concluded that the shipwreck at Cam An is a ship with a traditional East Sea design. This is a type of ship that integrates traditional Southeast Asian and Chinese shipbuilding techniques.

To date, more than 20 shipwrecks have been discovered in the Southeast Asian seas, identified as traditional East Sea ships, also known as hybrid ships, dating from between the 14th and 16th centuries.

As the ship has not yet been fully revealed, its overall dimensions can only be accurately determined in future research, and it is likely to be around 17.8m long.

This shipwreck is a unique and vivid physical evidence of a bustling period of trade in the South China Sea. For centuries, the waters of Hoi An held a strategic position on the international maritime route connecting East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, Southwest Asia and the West, and was part of the “Sea Trade Route”.

Date not yet determined

Although there are different opinions about the lower chronological limit or the time when this type of ship began to appear in the mid-14th century, the late 14th century or the 15th century, the upper chronological limit or the latest date of this type of ship in Southeast Asia all stop at the 16th century.

Authorities have yet to excavate the shipwreck. Photo: QUOC TUAN

Through historical evidence, oral tradition, maps, and satellite images from many periods, it can be confirmed that the location where the ship was discovered in 1905 was on land, quite far from the water's edge, about 700 - 800m.

At the same time, the initial results of pollen spore analysis show that the time of shipwreck or abandonment was in the sea area, not in a river. These not only confirm the ancient nature of the shipwreck at Cam An but also can estimate the age of the ship, most likely earlier than 1905, possibly even several hundred years old.

It is known that the specialized agency has not yet received the C14 dating results of the shipwreck at Cam An from the Ho Chi Minh City Nuclear Center. The C14 dating results of the ship are expected to be available in 2025.

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Hong - Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism said that it is not possible to confirm with certainty that this is an ancient ship, but it is only a hypothesis and is waiting for the official report and results. The Department has assigned the task of excavating this ship to Hoi An City, however, for some reasons, the authorities are being cautious and will only proceed to excavate this ship when conditions are sufficient.

According to the Hoi An Cultural Heritage Management and Preservation Center, it is necessary to develop plans to protect the ship; at the same time, it is necessary to create detailed plans and solutions for the excavation and conservation of the ship and the collected artifacts to ensure the originality and integrity of the ship and the collected artifacts.

Source: https://baoquangnam.vn/he-mo-ve-lai-lich-tau-dam-o-bo-bien-cam-an-3154227.html