900-Year-Old Ship, Found In Rice Field, Draws Experts To India

Times Leader ^ | 10-23-2003 | V.M. Thomas

[blam]

900-year-old ship, found in rice field, draws experts to India

V.M. THOMAS
Associated Press
Posted on Thu, Oct. 23, 2003

COCHIN, India - A sailing vessel that experts believe sank off the coast of southern India 900 years ago has been found buried in a rice field and is attracting the attention of international marine, archaeology and conservation experts.

The ship is made of local Indian wood but the craftsmanship is not, leading experts to suggest it was made by ancient Chinese, Japanese, Egyptians or Arabs.

The government of southern Kerala state finished excavating the 22-meter long, 5-meter wide (72-foot long, 16-foot wide) ship in June, after it was found in a rice field in Thaikal, a coastal village some 50 kilometers (30 miles) south of Cochin, the state's commercial hub.

After centuries of land buildup, the ship was 50 meters (160 feet) deep in the inland field when workers tilling the field two years ago noticed its wooden planks protruding.

"Parts of the vessel that we have excavated are sure to throw up lots of light into the maritime activities in India centuries back. We are now going to organize an international conference of maritime and archaeological experts to unravel the mystery of the ship," P.K. Gopi, head of the Center for Heritage Studies, told The Associated Press on Thursday.

The center conducted the excavation and will host the convention in January.

The base of the ship is intact, Gopi said. "We have also unearthed many wooden portions, seven small wooden shelves, different types of shells, pieces of ropes and bamboo from the vessel."

After carbon-dating tests on the ship's wood, a local variety called Anjili, Gopi said, "We believe the ship to be approximately 920 years old."

"But the techniques used in making this vessel are definitely not Indian."

He said he believed the builders were from China, Japan, Egypt or an Arab country.

"In the 12th century, lots of people from these countries used to come to the Kerala coast for trading," Gopi said.

Experts from Texas A&M University and Southampton University in Britain have visited the ship.

[Ditter]

bump for later

[Rockpile]

blam, don't you think that this vessel must have sunk in a river estuary not on the open coast--in spite of how this story reads. That's a lot of accumulated silt.

I think Clive Cussler found an 1860s riverboat remains in a farmer's field along the Mississippi.

[LaMudBug]

"How do they know it's 900 years old, and how do they know that it's a certain ship?"

The Holy Ghost descended from heaven and shared his knowledge with them.

[curmudgeonII]

A better qurstion is, how do sail a 72' long ship IN a rice field?!?

Very carefully.

[blam]

"I think Clive Cussler found an 1860s riverboat remains in a farmer's field along the Mississippi."

I think I read about that. Something is wrong with this story though...they say it was plowed up by farmers and that it was 160 feet underground?

[ruoflaw]

160 feet underground....if you find an explanation for that,I would sure like to hear it!

[RightWhale]

There was a series of huge earthquakes in the region in the 1800s. Really shook up the land and the Methodist settlers.

[blam]

"160 feet underground....if you find an explanation for that,I would sure like to hear it!"

"After centuries of land buildup, the ship was 50 meters (160 feet) deep in the inland field when workers tilling the field two years ago noticed its wooden planks protruding. "

Ah, I think they mean that it was 160 feet from the edge of a waterway...that would make sense. It doesn't say that it was 160 feet underground.

[livius]

Spain and Portugal had a fair amount of contact with India at various times in the more or less remote past. It's certainly a possibility.

[yhwhsman]

There was one fund in a farmers field in Iowa. For years he had planted around a '50 gal drum' in his field. One day he tried to pull it out, started digging, and it kept going down.

Was a river boat sailing up the Missouri, it sank and still had all it's cargo intact. You can actually still see the boat, near the NE border.

[snopercod]

I'm going for Laz's record of "Proudly Posting without Reading the Article"...

[Cronos]

Cochin is also the place where a large party of Jews landed after the destruction of the temple. They had been Jews there earlier, but in smaller numbers. Cochin has a vibrant community of Jews or Bene-Israelis. The place has the distinction of being the only place in the world where Jews were not discriminated against.

[pepsionice]

If you read the book '1421'...the capabilities of the Chinese were at least 200 years ahead of Columbus in 1492. The Chinese could have readily sailed around this region in India in the 1200s. It would have been a minor task. Had it not been for the great fire that burned the Imperial City around 1422...the Chinese would have easily settled the American western coast and established major trading operations before Columbus had even set foot in the Caribbean. Apparently all of the 'in' crowd believed the fire in the Imperial City was a omen that they should not be setting their sights on major taskings....and so the dark period of China began at that point.

[Osage Orange]

An unknown factoid about this ship..is that it was named "Uncle Ben's"

FRegards,

[Osage Orange]

You wrote:

"There was one fund in a farmers field in Iowa. For years he had planted around a '50 gal drum' in his field. One day he tried to pull it out, started digging, and it kept going down. "

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I'll bet he tried to pull it out around 1999...because that's about the time most "funds" went down.

Fwiw-