Nishimura Masanari’s Study of the Earliest Known Shipwreck Found in Vietnam

Abstract The Chau Tan shipwreck, probably the earliest shipwreck in Vietnam, was found in the waters off the shore of Binh Son District in Quang Ngai Province in the early 2000s. Dr. Nishimura initiated a study of the shipwreck material, but it was cut short by his sudden demise. A group of Japanese scholars continued the project in co-operation with the Institute of Archaeology (Vietnam). Since remnants of the shipwreck were pillaged and their archaeological contexts were not recorded, this initial study is limited to a comparative assessment of the recovered items, including wooden timbers from the hull and Chinese ceramics. It is also a case study for addressing the ethical issues of raising shipwreck remains in Vietnam for commercial purposes without conducting scientific surveys. The study indicates that the ship timbers came from an eighth-ninth century Southeast Asian ship, and that the Chinese ceramics can be assigned to the Tang Dynasty. A number of inked or inscribed characters on ceramic shards indicate the involvement of Indian Ocean merchants.