Shipwreck Ceramics

Maritime archaeology has resulted in a new, deeper knowledge of both, ancient trade routes and the ceramics and other wares traded by sea.
Much of this trade occurred considerably earlier than originally supposed, it is now known that China exported products by sea as early as the Tang dynasty (618-907), over 500 years earlier than the arrival of the first explorers from Europe in the area.

Evidence from shipwrecks and their cargo discovered in the South China sea suggest that Annam (present northern Vietnam) and ancient Thai kilns had also an important role in the ceramics trade to and among South East Asia's ancient kingdoms.

Shipwreck archaeology has contributed a lot to our current knowledge of pre-Ming sea routes and marine archaeology has uncovered facts about early trade with South and Southeast Asia unknown before. Direct sea trade with Europe did not begin before the 16th century, when European explorers discovered the Pacific Ocean when searching for a sea route for the spice trade.

But, it is known that as early as the Tang dynasty Chinese ships laden with merchandise sailed for Southeast Asia, long before European ships were capable to reach the region.
Much of this relatively new knowledge has its source not in documents preserved in China or other places, but is the result of marine archaeology, documenting and retrieving shipwrecks and their cargo from their centuries old resting place on the bottom of the sea.

During the Ming dynasty, long before the great expeditions of Zheng He to South Asia and the East African coast, China already had trading relations with the big Kingdoms in Southeast Asia.
When Malacca became dominant, the port of Malacca also grew into an international trading hub where goods from China were transshipped to the Middle East and Europe, and from where South Asian wares were shipped to Southeast Asia and China.

A number of ships did sink during their shipping voyages due to various reasons in centuries past. They now provide information that otherwise would have been lost. In the vicinity of the Malay peninsula about ten ship wrecks have up to date been successfully investigated or excavated, contributing a great deal of new information and facts regarding early ceramics trade in the region.

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