Friday, 2nd November 2007 (2040 views)

A sunken cargo shop off the coast of China's Hailing Island that contains gold artefacts and jewellery is set to be recovered within the next few weeks, according to a Chinese official.

The ship, which is estimated to have been underwater for more than 800 years, measures 30 metres in length and is considered to be the largest cargo ship from the Southern Song Dynasty ever discovered in China.

Following three years of planning, a salvage operation got underway in May and has already rescued over 6,000 items from the vessel.

"Salvage work is nearing an end and the relics we are recovering are more varied and exciting than we expected," the deputy director of the Guangdong culture department, Jing Lihu, told a Chinese radio station, according to the China Daily newspaper.

The vice-mayor of Yangjiang said that the city is currently in the process of constructing a museum to house the ship, as well as the estimated 80,000 artefacts it is expected to contain.

 

« Back to the stories

 

The news feeds on this site are independently provided by Adfero Limited © and do not represent the views or opinions of the World Gold Council.