A shipwreck off the coast of Indonesia was discovered in the 1980s by a fisherman working in the Java Sea. It was obvious that the vessel was old. But none could pinpoint the ship’s age. The only information available to scholars was that it originated in China and was transporting pottery, ivory, and incense.
New discoveries
Archaeologists went over the cargo again in 2018 and found something they had missed before. On the underside of one of the pottery, objects were Chinese calligraphy that resembled the present “Made in China” stamps. In this instance, it identified Jianning Fu in China’s Fujian province is the manufacturing location.
Jianning Fu changed his name to Jianning Lu in 1278, according to historical documents. This indicated that the ship may have sunk earlier than 1162, before this name change. This, together with ivory and other item carbon dating tests, revealed that the ship was likely 800 years old—a century older than previously believed.
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Source: List Verse
