Daomu Biji: Wu Xie’s Private Notes - Chapter 33: Notes and List of Xisha Archaeological Members

The notes found on the ghost ship needed to be studied further. Uncle Three was in the habit of taking notes and he did things very carefully as well. After seeing the contents of the notes, however, I found that they were too rigorous. Uncle Three probably wrote these notes under Wen-Jin’s supervision.

(Note: The content of the Taiwanese version is “Wen-Jin was obviously in the habit of taking notes. The notes she left behind were found on the ghost ship and needed to be studied further.”)

Copy from the notes:

The map of archaeological areas of the undersea tomb:

There are a total of seven areas. The porcelain is scattered in an area of about three thousand square meters and the sunken ship is located thirty meters to the left of the reef in the center.

Date One

Considering the fact that we are at the bottom of the sea, the traditional methods of field archaeology aren’t going to work completely. We can only use our own creative methods.

Even though ocean and land environments are completely different, the results are the same even after we use different methods.

We aren’t sure about the specific size and shape of what is buried at the bottom of the sea. The first step should be using Luoyang shovels to determine the approximate exploration area. The seabed isn’t like land and we have no idea what result will come out of this, but I don’t think we will have any major problems.

We’ve determined that the porcelain we salvaged previously is from Yongle’s regime (1). This is encouraging news. According to the location, we estimate that this batch of porcelain came from an official kiln in Jingdezhen. The style is mainly blue and white with a golden color. Some of them were buried deep in the sea sand, so they were well preserved. The style of this batch of porcelain was supposed to be shipped to Manila and eventually to Mexico at that time. If our judgment is correct, then silk should have been the largest cargo carried on this sunken ship.

It’s a pity that we have little hope of seeing traces of silk fabrics that have been preserved in the sea until now.

Date Two

We’ve encountered some problems using Luoyang shovels. Working underwater requires more strength and the original wooden hammers we brought can’t be used. We have to use rocks we found in the water. The oyster shells are very sharp and many people’s hands have been injured.

I recommend working on the boat if people want to use Luoyang shovels in more shallow water. There should be two people on the boat and one person in the water, which will make things more efficient.

If people want to work in deep water, I recommend using machines. Since it’s underwater, the Luoyang shovels will mainly be used to judge the geological composition under the seabed and define the boundary of the “problematic area” so that our inspection can be done more effectively. As a result, people can choose to use modified geological drills to do the work. We only need to determine the approximate composition of the sample brought back by the drilling.

If there is a shipwreck under the seabed, there will be calcified or coralized wood. Unlike land, we don’t need to judge the age of the shipwreck based on the condition of the wood.

At this stage, there’s not enough manpower or material resources in China to protect or excavate the remains of the sunken ship as a whole.

Surprisingly, the shape that was discovered wasn’t the shape of a boat at all, but a “土” shape. A hard object in the shape of “土” was buried at the bottom of the sea. The size is amazing. There shouldn’t be any kind of foundation on the seabed in this place so far from shore, so what is this huge object buried under the sand?

For the time being, we’re afraid to make a conclusion, but I have a hunch that if it’s as I expected, then things will be fun.

Date Three

The marking strips the archaeological team is equipped with can’t function in an environment full of sea water.

The strips are too wide, and will pull the flag poles fixed in the seabed out of the sand due to the turbulent seawater. We eventually used the anchor ropes on the fishing boat.

We should be equipped with professional marking strips for underwater operations in future marine expeditions.

The anchor ropes are very heavy since they can absorb water, so they aren’t easily influenced by the current. People can use similar materials to anchor ropes and paint them with conspicuous colors to better observe the bottom of the sea even if they’re on the boat.

Based on the final shape of the marking strips, I am basically certain that this should be a huge sea burial tomb. Its scale is completely incalculable. Plus, at a place so far away from the sea, whose tomb will it be?

Date Four

Based on the sample we’ve gotten from the wooden planks at the bottom of the sea, traces of grout, fishing nets, and stucco were found. This means that it was the adhesive used to seal seams and repair cracks in the hull of a fishing boat.

In this case, this ancient tomb may have taken some sealing measures, so it’s very likely that there’s still some air in there. The most likely locations for air are at points A and B. These two distribution points are relatively small and the spaces are relatively independent.

The biggest problem now is how to enter the ancient tomb without destroying the air-tight environment under all that water pressure. In the traditional sense, an air-tight cabin is needed to achieve such a function. Maybe we’ll have to scuttle a ship. In order to do so, we’ll have to work as a boatswain.

Date Five

July 21st

We’re going to enter the sea tomb for the first time. I’ve found the entrance, and after thinking this through, I’ve found that this ancient tomb isn’t very complicated.

July 24

We went in once and found a strange phenomenon inside. It appears the tomb isn’t “clean” (2) either.

List:

NameGenderWu SanxingMaleChen Wen-JinFemaleZhang QilingMaleXie LianhuanMaleLi SidiMaleThe man who took the bodyMaleQi YuMaleHuo LingFemaleUnknown Person No. TwoMaleUnknown Person No. ThreeMaleUnknown Person No. FourFemale

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TN Notes:

(1) Yongle Emperor was the third Emperor of the Ming dynasty. Wiki link

(2) It means that there might be ghosts or monsters in the tomb.