Pulau Belitung adalah sebuah pulau di Provinsi (negeri) Bangka-Belitung. Pada tahun 2009, sebuah kapal asal Negara Arab ( Oman kerana jenis kapal "dhow"sama dengan yang ada sekarang ) yang tenggelam pada tahun 826 AD ditemui. Ada 60,000 barangan berupa pinggan mangkuk, perhiasan, emas, tempayan penyimpanan barangan di temui.
Saya cuma nak mencari samada, barangan ini datangnya dari "Dragon Valley" atau Lembah Bujang, kerana, semasa Tang Dynasty di China, pengaruh China amat kuat di Siam Kedah. Malah, ada yang mengatakan, Merong Mahawangsa adalah merupakan putera Raja China Tang dynasty yang menjadi Raja di Siam setelah berkahwin dengan anak raja Siam Islam.
Ini juga kerana, melihat kapal yang sarat dengan barangan ini telah tersasar jauh dari perjalanan maritime Canton ( Guanzhou ) - Arabia. Saya beranggapan, barangan ini "dikilang" di Lembah Bujang, dan dijual di sekitar Nusantara. Wallahualam.
Sila lihat di bawah :
| Belitung Wreck Details & Photos | ||
· The Belitung Wreck was found one nautical mile off the coast of the Island of Belitung, Indonesia. It was only 17 m deep. A series of coral reefs a little further offshore appear to have been the cause of the loss. · A remarkably large section of the ship's hull survived. The hull planks were stitched together, and light frames were lashed to the hull. A keelson, stringers, ceiling planks, and thwart beams, all remained in place. Many timber samples were analysed. Without doubt, the ship is either Arab or Indian, there being little to distinguish the two apart in ancient times. The Belitung Wreck is the first and only Arab or Indian ship to be found in Asia, and the first and only in the world with a complete cargo. · A bowl from the wreck is inscribed with a date equivalent to 826 AD. Carbon 14 analysis confirms the early 9th century provenance. · The majority of the surviving cargo consisted of ceramics from the Changsha kilns of China, primarily bowls and ewers, but also a smattering of figurines, jarlets, and other oddities. Many of the bowls were originally packed in straw cylinders and stowed directly in the hold. Many others were helically stacked inside large 'Dusun'-type storage jars, with up to 130 per jar. · Perhaps overshadowing the Changsha ware is a selection of imperial quality ceramics; white-ware from the famous Ding kilns, Yue-ware from Zhejiang Province, and the earliest known intact underglaze blue-and-white dishes. · Even these imperial ceramics are overshadowed by intricately decorated gold dishes and a cup, augmented by gilt-silver covered boxes and a large ewer, all beautifully decorated with animals and vegetation, many following Islamic themes. · The discovery of such high value items in a shipwreck context is extremely unusual. Ships normally carried trade goods. These could certainly be of great quality, but not of imperial standard. It would seem the Belitung ship carried a tribute gift along with its main cargo. These prized items may well have been destined for a Middle-Eastern caliph or Javanese royalty. · Much can also be learnt from less valuable items on board, such as Indonesian scales weights, aromatic resin, gongs, an inkstone, a glass bottle, grindstones, and lacquer-ware. None of these items is definitively Arab or Indian. The Belitung ship may well have been at least partially crewed by Southeast Asians. She may well have called in at a Srivijayan port. · The Belitung Wreck is the first archaeological evidence to suggest that Arabs or Indians traded directly with China during the first millennium. If so, they followed the longest sea route of that era, not to be surpassed until the Portuguese ventured into Asia in the late 15th century. However, there is also the possibility that an Indian or Arab ship loaded the cargo on the western side of the Isthmus of Kra and sunk while en route to Java. | ||
 Changsha ceramic cat. |  Changsha cup with straw. |  Ding whiteware cup. |
 Pierced ceramic censor. |  Basin. |  Changsha ewer. |
 Gilt silver covered box. |  Die. |  Chinese lion and grape pattern mirror. |
