Ancient shipwreck goods head for museum
The antique items in the
shipwreck were discovered in the coastal area of Binh Son district's
Chau Thuan Bien commune, Quang Ngai province.
Director of the
provincial Department of Culture, Sport and Tourism Nguyen Dang Vu
confirmed to Viet Nam News on January 22 that the provincial museum took
33 percent of the items.
He said the antiquities were priceless
treasures such as terracotta and porcelain jars, bowls and plates from
the Tran dynasty, making it one of the oldest discoveries in recent
years.
"The provincial museum took 1,600 antiquities, of which 35
were unique and precious objects including stone, weights and a copper
mirror," said Vu.
"We will classify and file all antiquities in order before displaying them to the public soon."
Vu added that a seminar will be held this June on whether the shipwreck should be salvaged or not.
The 24-metre-long and five-metre-wide vessel, which may date back to
the 14th century, is the second ancient ship that has been discovered in
the province.
According to Doan Sung and his company Doan Anh
Duong which won the bidding rights to raise the wreck, the antiquities
are the most ancient objects retrieved from shipwrecks in Vietnam to
date.
"We have searched 11 ancient sunken ships in Vietnam, but
the 600-year-old ship is the oldest one. It means that all the
antiquities are precious objects," Sung said.
"We will preserve the antiquities at our own museum on Phu Quoc Island to serve tourists," he said.
Sung said his company had invested 50 billion VND (2.4 million USD) in
excavating two shipwrecks in the province and on preserving
antiquities.
He said a 49.7-hectare Silk Road Museum, which will
be built in Phu Quoc Island in 2015, will display antiquities retrieved
from ancient ships in Vietnam.
"All antiquities retrieved from
cargo ships that sank in Vietnam's sea waters over the centuries are
related to the ancient trading route, the Silk Road," he said.
He
added that the antiquities will provide clues to historic trade routes.
In 1999, more than 240,000 artefacts were recovered from a sunken Thai
ship near Cham Island, off the coast of Hoi An.-VNA