13th century Japanese shipwreck

From Times Online: Explosive evidence found in a 13th-century shipwreck off the coast of Japan.

Japanese underwater archaeologists have found evidence of the great invasion fleet sent by Kublai Khan in the 13th century, which tradition says was destroyed by a kamikaze or "divine wind" sent by the Emperor’s deified ancestors to save Japan from its enemies. Only a small proportion of the force was Mongol, the evidence shows: the majority was drawn from conquered China, and used advanced weaponry including shrapnel-filled projectile bombs.

The discovery, by Kenzo Hayashida of the Kyushu Okinawa Society for Underwater Archaeology, follows years of patient searching of the sea bottom off the north coast of Kyushu, the southernmost of Japan’s four main islands. The site, in Imari Bay, was initially found by fishermen, whose nets brought up artefacts including the personal seal of a Mongol commander, inscribed in both Chinese and the Phagspa script used to write the Mongolian language after the descendants of Genghis Khan conquered China and needed to administer their empire. [continue]

Posted on January 17, 2003 12:58 PM. Filed under: history & archaeology.