Java Wrecks

Shipwrecks in Indonesian waters that document the maritime Silk Road trade in Chinese ceramics from the Tang and Song periods. The Belitung (Tang) wreck, an Arab dhow lost about AD 830 in the Java Sea off Belitung Island, carried roughly 60,000 Changsha bowls and is the earliest known direct China-to-Arabia cargo. The Cirebon and Java Sea wrecks added 10th-century Song material. Commercial salvage of several sites, including Belitung, drew criticism for bypassing archaeological recording standards.