Recently, scholars from Bournemouth University in the United Kingdom salvaged several 800 year old stone tablets from an ancient sunken ship in the Starland Bay off the coast of Dorset, southern England. The largest of these stone tablets is two meters long and weighs about 200 kilograms.

The archaeologists in the team said that the materials of these stone tablets were all Popeke marble. The sinking of the ship was at the peak of the stone processing industry in Pobeck, England. The stone tablet made of this material was welcomed by many church clergy in Britain at that time.

It is reported that the Christian cross, which was popular in Britain in the 13th century, is engraved on these stone tablets, which is very similar to the patterns existing in Westminster Cathedral and Canterbury Cathedral. Therefore, these stone tablets were probably prepared for medieval English clergy and used as coffin boards or tomb monuments. The research team said that the research on these cultural relics can better understand the life and ancient carving technology of Britain in the 13th century. (Produced by Wang Xiaoting)

Editor in charge: [Li Ji]