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WET & HOT NEWS ! > National Museum
2000-year-old pills found in Greek shipwreck
The 10 Sep. 2010 at 11:10Underwater ArcheologyBy Shanta Barley - News Scientist
In 130 BC, a ship fashioned from the wood of walnut trees and bulging with medicines and Syrian glassware sank off the coast of Tuscany, Italy. Archaeologists found its precious load 20 years ago and now, for the first time, archaeobotanists have been able to examine and analyse pills that were prepared by the physicians of ancient Greece.
DNA analyses show that each millennia-old tablet is a mixture of more than 10 different plant extracts, from hibiscus to celery.
"For the first time, we have physical evidence of what we have in writing from the ancient Greek physicians Dioscorides and Galen," says Alain Touwaide of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History in Washington DC.
The box of pills was discovered on the wreck in 1989, with much of the medicine still completely dry, according to Robert Fleischer of the Smithsonian's National Zoological Park, also in Washington DC.
Fleischer analysed DNA fragments in two of the pills and compared the sequences to the GenBank genetic database maintained by the US National Institutes of Health. He was able to identify carrot, radish, celery, wild onion, oak, cabbage, alfalfa and yarrow. He also found hibiscus extract, probably imported from east Asia or the lands of present-day India or Ethiopia.
"Most of these plants are known to have been used by the ancients to treat sick people," says Fleischer. Yarrow staunched the flow of blood from wounds, and Pedanius Dioscorides, a physician and pharmacologist in Rome in the first century AD, described the carrot as a panacea for a number of problems. "They say that reptiles do not harm people who have taken it in advance; it also aids conception," he wrote around 60 AD.Ancient Chinese coins found in Kenya
The 25 Aug. 2010 at 17:03Eastern World TreasuresFrom People's Daily Online
The underwater archaeological team from the National Museum of China will visit Kenya in Africa in November to search for the legendary "sunken ships of Zheng He's fleet." A few days ago, the land-based archaeological team that has already arrived in Kenya sent a piece of news back that they found some Chinese cultural relics, including "Yongle Tongbao," which are ancient Chinese coins used in the Ming Dynasty, in a local village.
The China-Kenyan Lamu Islands Archaeological Project, launched by the National Museum of China, the School of Archaeology and Museology of the Peking University and the Kenya National Museum, was officially launched in July 2010.
The project's main purpose is to confirm the authenticity of some local villagers' claims that they are "descendants of the ancient Chinese people" and to salvage the ships in Zheng He's fleet, which were sunk 600 years ago.
The aboveground archaeological team led by Qin Dashu, an archaeological professor from the Peking University, arrived at Kenya at the end of July and has began to search for Chinese cultural relics left in Kenya. After searching for nearly one month, the archaeological team has found many relics, including the "Yongle Tongbao" of the Ming Dynasty.
The land-based archeology project chose a historic site near the Mambrui Village, Malindi, Kenya as the excavation site. The most convincing evidence archeologists have found are the "Yongle Tongbao" Ming Dynasty coins and the Long Quan Kiln porcelain provided only to the royal family in the early Ming Dynasty.
Qin said that he has studied the place where the porcelain used in the imperial palace was made and the characteristics of the porcelain found in the early Ming Dynasty. Now they have found this kind of porcelain in Kenya, he believes that it may be related to Zheng He because as an official delegate, Zheng may have brought some imperial porcelain there as rewards or presents.African quest for sunken ship of Ming admiral
The 26 Jul. 2010 at 05:57Eastern World Treasures
By Xan Rice - Guardian.co.uk
It's another chapter in the now familiar story of China's economic embrace of Africa. Except that this one begins nearly 600 years ago.
A team of 11 Chinese archaeologists will arrive in Kenya tomorrow to begin the search for an ancient shipwreck and other evidence of commerce with China dating back to the early 15th century. The three-year, £2m joint project will centre around the tourist towns of Lamu and Malindi and should shed light on a largely unknown part of both countries' histories.
The sunken ship is believed to have been part of a mighty armada commanded by Ming dynasty admiral Zheng He, who reached Malindi in 1418. According to Kenyan lore, reportedly backed by recent DNA testing, a handful of survivors swum ashore. After killing a python that had been plaguing a village, they were allowed to stay and marry local women, creating a community of African-Chinese whose descendants still live in the area.
A likely shipwreck site has been identified near Lamu island, according to Idle Farah, director general of the National Museums of Kenya, which is working on the archaeology project with its Chinese equivalent and Peking University.
"The voyages of the Portuguese and the Arabs to our coasts have long been documented," Farah told the Guardian. "Now, by examining this shipwreck, we hope to clarify with clear evidence the first contact between China and east Africa."
The project forms part of a recent effort by the Chinese government to celebrate the achievements of Zheng, a Muslim whose ships sailed the Indian and Pacific Oceans many decades before the exploits of more celebrated European explorers such as Christopher Columbus and Vasco da Gama. Starting in 1405, Zheng made seven journeys, taking in south-east Asia, India, the Middle East and Africa, in fleets of up to 300 huge ships with nearly 30,000 sailors in total, according to Chinese records.The 'Other' Silk Road: China Peers Into Maritime Past
The 03 Jul. 2010 at 05:16Museum news
By Anthony Kuhn - NPR
In China, it is hard to imagine just how much history lies right under your feet. The country has long been a goldmine for archaeologists.
Until recently, they have been confined to digging on land. But in recent years, China has grown into a powerhouse of nautical archaeology, combing its vast coastline for undersea shipwrecks, treasure, and traces of a trade route known as the "Maritime Silk Road," a less-known parallel to the fabled overland passage.
About 1,000 visitors a day flock to one of China's newest museums, in Guangdong province's Yangjiang city. It is called the Maritime Silk Road Museum, and it is on the beach, facing the South China Sea.
The museum houses one of the world's oldest known merchant ships, dating from the Southern Song Dynasty in the 13th century. It's been dubbed the South China Sea No. 1.
Museum guide Liu Jinxiu explains that Chinese and British explorers discovered the ship by accident in 1987 while looking for a sunken vessel belonging to the British East India Company.
"The explorers used a claw to fish out more than 200 pieces of fine Chinese porcelain," she says. "From this, they deduced that the ship was Chinese, and not British, and the two sides ended their cooperation."
At the time, China lacked the means to salvage the ship. Archaeologist Zhang Wei of the National Museum of China remembers how he went about setting up the field of nautical archaeology for his country.Old Dock Experience opening in Liverpool One
The 25 Mar. 2010 at 08:04Miscellaneous
By Michael Hunt - Placenorthwest.co.uk
Grosvenor and Oxford Archaeology North will be opening the world's first commercial enclosed wet dock to the public in May.
Prior to the new tourist attraction opening to the public, known as the Old Dock Experience, partners involved in the preservation of the Old Dock, and the development of the interpretation centre, will celebrate the completion of a visitor facility this Friday.
The visitor facility can be accessed in Thomas Steers Way, which is a large cavern consisting of a small exhibition room including pre-recorded documentaries and storyboards, the exposed Old Dock, walkways, and a large screen showing a reconstruction of the dock with a sailing ship (as shown in the main picture).
The dock has been carefully preserved under Grosvenor's £1bn Liverpool One redevelopment and was discovered during excavations in 2001 after being buried since 1826.
Chris Bliss, Liverpool One's estate director, said: "Working with Oxford Archaeology North who undertook the initial excavations in 2001, Grosvenor has incorporated the Old Dock into the design of Liverpool One and has developed a visitor facility which will be run by National Museums Liverpool.
"The driving force throughout the whole process, Grosvenor funded the interpretation centre up to the completion of the building and with support received from Liverpool Vision, the funding for the fit out of the exhibition space and also the design and production of the exhibition was kindly provided by the North West Development Agency."Ceramics that tell the Malaysian story
The 02 Mar. 2010 at 15:46Museum news
By Yip Yoke Teng - The Star Online
Ceramics, whether prehistoric or modern-day, tell a lot about an ethnic group as the items are widely used in daily life for various purposes.
To highlight the significance of ceramics, the National Museum has grouped the most precious artefacts from its ceramic collection together in the Malaysia Ceramics Exhibition, which runs until March 28.“The 171 artefacts have been hand-picked from our own collection as they best reflect the diversity of our multiracial society. We hope the exhibition can give visitors a better understanding and in-depth knowledge of the subject,” Department of Museums Malaysia director-general Datuk Ibrahim Ismail said told reporters on Saturday.
“It is one of our country’s cultural legacies that we ought to uphold and share information on,” he added.The artefacts are categorised into six groups — Prehistoric Ceramics, Enduring Reminders, Malay Ceramics, Tranquillity of the Soul, Chinese Ceramics, Symbol and Legacy, Indian Ceramics, Devotion and Worship, Sabah and Sarawak Ceramics, Magic and Spirituality, and Shipwreck Ceramics: Treasures from the Seabed.
Chinese experts to explore sunken ships from Cheng Ho's fleet in Africa
The 25 Feb. 2010 at 04:16Underwater Archeology
From People's Daily Online
The National Museum of China, Peking University's School of Archaeology and Museology, as well as the Kenya National Museum jointly signed an agreement February 23, under which, Chinese and Kenyan experts will investigate and excavate underwater and onshore cultural relics in Kenya's Lamu Archipelago, in a bid to further solve relevant historical mysteries relating to China-Africa cultural and economic exchange in ancient times. In addition, some Chinese experts will visit Kenya to explore the sunken ships from Cheng Ho's fleet.
Zhao Hui, director of Peking University's School of Archaeology and Museology, said that this project has witnessed 5 years of investigations, argumentations and preparations and it involves investigating, exploring and excavating the underwater cultural relics in and around the Lamu Archipelago, unearthing ancient ruins in and around Malindi City, and researching Chinese cultural relics unearthed in Kenya's coastal areas.
Reporters learned that the Ministry of Commerce has allocated 20 million yuan to fund the important foreign-aid project scheduled to last 3 years. Every year, the Chinese side will dispatch experts to Kenya to work there for 2 to 3 months. Due to special climate conditions in Kenya, cultural relic excavation can only be launched during 2 dry seasons, namely, from June to September and from December to February of the following year. The curator of the Kenya National Museum disclosed that a Chinese expert group will arrive in Kenya in July 2010 and more Chinese experts are expected to arrive later.
According to Zhao Jiabin, director of the Underwater Archaeology Center at the National Museum of China, ship debris and ancient chinaware from China's Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties have been discovered during the archaeological excavation and investigation in Kenya's 5 coastal regions such as Malindi.
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