Lena Shoal Junk

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Coordinates: 12 ° 21 '  N , 119 ° 46'  E

Map: Philippines
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Lena Shoal Junk​
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Philippines

The Lena Shoal Junk is a shipwreck located about 25 km northwest of the Calauit Peninsula off the island of Busuanga at a depth of about 48 meters in the South China Sea . It was discovered in 1996 by the French underwater archaeologist Franck Goddio , who followed up on clues given by the National Museum of the Philippines as divers and fishermen kept lifting up fragments of ceramics they found at the Lena Shoal.

The junk probably sank around the year 1490, due to the cargo of the ship it could be reconstructed that the ship had previously visited Vietnam , Cambodia , Thailand and the Malay Peninsula and was probably heading for Tondo .

The junk offered some surprises to the researchers, as it has all the typical design features of a Chinese junk, but research into the wood used showed that this ship was built in Southeast Asia . A type of wood from the tree genus of the gutta-percha trees ( Palaquium sp. ) Was used for the planking ; this is only found in Southeast Asia. This suggests that the home port must be somewhere in the region.

A portion of the ship's lifted cargo included jewelry, metal, glass, ivory and cannons. However, most of the cargo was porcelain and ceramic goods from China and Southeast Asia . The discovery of the Lena Shoal junk is considered an important example of the junks trade of the late 15th century. With this find, another link for the trade routes of that time could be reconstructed.

See also

Other Medieval Shipwrecks Found in the Philippines:

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