A new centre for international cooperation in underwater archaeology has been opened in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong Province.

According to the Guangzhou Marine Geological Survey, the centre, located at a research base in Nansha, will cooperate with local Marine Geological Survey agencies and other institutions for research on deep-sea archaeology. This is reported by
China Daily, a partner of the TV BRICS.

It will also help conduct underwater archaeological research in the province in cooperation with the national cultural relics research programme and establish a geographical information management system on underwater archaeological heritage in Guangdong.

The Centre will strengthen cooperation with the archaeological research centre of the National Cultural Heritage Administration as well as universities to promote innovative underwater archaeological excavation, research and development of new technologies in this field.

It will also promote international cooperation in the protection and restoration of underwater cultural relics, transformation of archaeological finds and training of professionals.

Guangdong is a key region for underwater archaeology. After the excavation of the Nanhai-1 and Nanhao-1 shipwrecks in the South China Sea, Guangdong has taken the lead in the country by establishing two underwater cultural heritage protection zones.

Recently, the comprehensive protection project of “Nanhai-1”, a shipwreck from the Song Dynasty (960-1279) after years of archaeological excavation, was approved. The ship is preserved in the Maritime Silk Road Museum on Hailin Island in Yangjiang City in western Guangdong.

It is a treasure trove of porcelain, gold, silver, copper and iron wares, as well as copper coins, bamboo and wooden lacquer, plant and animal remains.

A breakthrough will soon be made in the construction of an underwater cultural heritage protection centre, which is scheduled to be put into operation next year.

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