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People's Daily Online, Beijing, September 21 (Song Zi Festival) With the approval of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, from July to September 2018, the underwater cultural heritage protection center of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, the Liaoning Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, and the Dalian Municipal Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology jointly formed a team to carry out underwater archaeological survey, search We found and confirmed the sinking of the Beiyang Navy ship in the Sino Japanese War of 1894-1895 - "Jingyuan Ship". This is another major achievement of underwater archaeological work on the remains of the Sino Japanese War of 1894-1895, following the "Zhiyuan Ship".

The "Jingyuan Ship" was built by the Vulkan Shipyard in Germany. At the end of 1887, it became a companion ship of the "Zhiyuan Ship" and was incorporated into the Beiyang Navy. The famous generals Deng Shichang and Lin Yongsheng served as the captain of the two ships. In September 1894, the Sino Japanese Jiawu Naval Battle broke out in the Dadonggou Sea area in the north of the Yellow Sea, and the Beiyang Navy was defeated, with a total of four warships lost. Among them, the "Jingyuan Ship" was besieged by four Japanese ships, and the officers and men of the ship bravely fought against the strong enemy until it finally sank. Only 16 people of the whole ship survived, and Lin Yongsheng and more than 200 officers and soldiers were killed.

The remains of the Jiawu Naval Battle are one of the key underwater archaeological works in China in recent years. The underwater archaeological survey of the long-distance ship is divided into two stages: in the first stage, the underwater archaeological team used multi beam and other instruments and equipment to collect heritage data, combined with diving exploration, and combined with local chronicles and literature research, confirmed the exact location of the "long-distance ship". The ship body is located on the seabed 12 meters below the water, in an inverted state, and the main body has been covered by the seabed silt. In the second stage, the underwater archaeological team carried out sand pumping operation outside the ship, gradually revealed the ship's structure, and excavated and cleaned the cultural relics out of the water. On September 15, the archaeologists found the wooden and gold painted "Jingyuan" ship name plate hanging on the outer wall of the ship's side 5 meters below the seabed, which confirmed that the sunken ship was Jingyuan ship. A wooden board with the word "Jingyuan" clearly written on it was also found in the site. The bow post, anchor chain, gunwale and other relics are preserved in the front end of the ship, and a large number of scattered ship components are found outside. Underwater archaeology has cleared more than 500 pieces of relics specimens made of iron, wood, copper, lead, glass, ceramics, leather and other materials, which are very rich in types, including ship structures such as boilers, inclined girders, portholes, hatches, and ironclad fort liners, weapons and equipment such as Mauser rifle bullets, revolver bullets, 37mm shells, 47mm shells, as well as on-board tools such as files, wrenches, and rotary handles. In addition, 53mm Grusen shells and 120mm shells fuzes were also found in the site, which are not found in the factory files of "via distant ships". It is speculated that these weapons and equipment were urgently added before the outbreak of naval warfare.

Wooden signboard with "Jingyuan" characters

Maoser rifle bullets, revolver bullets, 37mm shells, 47mm shells, etc

The underwater archaeological achievement of "Jingyuan Ship" is another important discovery of modern underwater archaeology of sunken ships, which is of great value for the study of modern history, the history of naval development, and the history of world naval warfare. At the same time, the "Jingyuan Cruiser" is one of the earliest cases of designing and manufacturing armored cruisers in Germany. Its discovery provides valuable material materials for the study of the history of naval ships in the world. Like the "Zhiyuan Ship" discovered in 2014, the remains of the sunken "Jingyuan Ship" are a true witness of the Sino Japanese Sino Japanese Sino Japanese War of 1894-1895. Its discovery restores a solemn and stirring history. Let us remember the heroes, keep the alarm bells ringing, remember the historical lessons, and work hard. The State Administration of Cultural Heritage will further strengthen its guidance and support, urge the people's governments of Liaoning Province and Dalian City to implement the protection measures for Zhiyuan and Jingyuan ships, increase the daily patrol and protection efforts, continue to organize underwater archaeological work in the Yellow Sea and Bohai Sea, and timely publish the latest results to the society.

"Jing" and "Yuan" hanging on the side of the hull

(The above pictures are provided by the underwater cultural heritage protection center of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage)

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