Yuan Dynasty fleet ship excavated

NAGASAKI - The wreck of a military ship, believed to be from the Yuan Dynasty fleet that tried to invade Japan in 1281, has been found in Imari Bay off Matsuura, Nagasaki Prefecture.

Discovered near Takashima island, the ship is believed to have gone down during the Battle of Koan in 1281, according to Prof. Yoshifumi Ikeda, an archaeologist with University of the Ryukus. Ikeda leads a team searching for ships that sank during failed Mongol invasions.

Pieces of Yuan ships, anchor stones, cannonballs and other relics had been found around the island, but the latest discovery was the first time a nearly intact ship's hull has been excavated.

Part of the ship's hull was found last year about one meter below the seabed, about 20 meters to 25 meters underwater, south of the island.

The team of researchers began a full excavation project on Sept. 30 this year.

The team discovered a keel, 15 meters long and 50 centimeters wide, and many wood planks on both sides of it.

The planks were 15 centimeters to 25 centimeters wide, 10 centimeters thick and one meter to 10 meters long, and are thought to be parts of the ship's hull. Both sides of the keel were painted gray.

Pieces of Chinese ceramics were found above parts of the hull, and bricks unique to China were also found. Based on this evidence, the team concluded the ship was from the Yuan fleet.

Based on pieces connected to the keel, the team estimated the ship was at least 20 meters long.

In the Kamakura period (1192-1333), Kublai Khan of China's Yuan Dynasty twice dispatched joint fleets with Goryeo, a kingdom on the Korean Peninsula, in an attempt to subjugate Japan.

Following the Battle of Bunei in 1274, the Battle of Koan saw a fleet of about 4,400 ships carrying 140,000 soldiers arrive in Japan. There were some fights with samurai in the Hakata district, today part of Fukuoka Prefecture, and other locations.

The ships later gathered near Takashima island where they were hit by a storm, which the Japanese later dubbed kamikaze (divine winds), and most of the ships sank, according to Japanese historical records.

There are cases of dugout canoes dating back to the Jomon (ca 10,000 B.C.-ca 300 B.C.) and Yayoi (ca 300 B.C.-ca 300 A.D.) periods being discovered in Japan.

But this is the first discovery of a nearly complete, pre-medieval wooden ship with its original shape mostly unchanged.

Findings include ceramics, shell

Although the mast and upper structures of the ship are missing in photographs the research team unveiled Monday, some outer planks of the ship's hull can be seen arrayed around both sides of ship's keel.

About 100 pieces of Chinese ceramics and at least 300 bricks, believed to have been ballast, were found scattered around the site. The pieces include what Japanese called tetsuhau, a kind of explosive shell used by Yuan Dynasty soldiers. Tetsuhau are depicted on a Japanese picture scroll made in the late Kamakura period.

Remains of the ship's ribs and bulkheads also were also confirmed.

Ikeda told reporters at the Nagasaki prefectural government office there is no doubt the ship belonged to the Yuan Dynasty. "We are ready to continue our research. We'd like to consider raising the ship, too," the archaeologist said.