Belitung Wreck
F2. Maritime Culture, Heritage, Archaeology, Art and MuseumsDefinition
Ninth-century Arab dhow wreck found in Indonesia in 1998 with Tang dynasty cargo.
The Belitung wreck is a ninth-century Arab or Indian dhow found in 1998 off Belitung Island, Indonesia, carrying about 60,000 pieces of Tang dynasty Chinese ceramics, gold, and silver. The cargo, including dated Changsha bowls, is the earliest physical proof of a direct maritime trade route between China and the Abbasid world along the monsoon sea lanes. Its commercial salvage and sale sparked a lasting controversy over the ethics of selling underwater cultural heritage, the central concern of the 2001 UNESCO Convention.