3. ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXCAVATION OF THE 10TH CENTURY INTAN SHIPWRECK - PROJECT SUMMARY.
Michael Flecker, PhD student, Southeast Asian Studies Programme, National University of Singapore

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The establishment of the route, the origin, and the destination of the Intan ship is pivotal to the interpretation of the cargo. Central and eastern Java is a rich in temples and in artefacts. To date, finds in Sumatra have been relatively few. As a consequence, many items, bronzes in particular, are routinely given a Javanese provenance. Much of the Intan cargo challenges this, or at least brings to light the added possibility of Sumatran origin. This is hardly surprising, given the ascendancy of the Srivijayan empire at the time.

To cite some specifics, the gold sandalwood flower coins provide new evidence for minting of coins in Sumatra as early as the mid-10th century. Java almost certainly provided the prototype for coinage struck in Sumatra, but in conjunction with terrestrial finds, the Intan coins indicate that a distinct variation of the ma character was used for the obverse of Sumatran sandalwood flower coins of both gold and silver. Another example is the stupika moulds. Three were found on the wreck site, effectively doubling the number known to exist. Their presence provides compelling evidence to support the existing supposition that the multitude of stupikas found in Java and Bali were cast in-situ rather than being imported.

The Intan Wreck is being interpreted artefact by artefact, from the distribution on the wreck site to the chemical composition to the origin and intended use. When viewed as a whole, it is hoped that the Intan Wreck will provide new insight into economic, cultural, and religious interaction, not only between Sumatra and Java, but throughout Asia during the 10th century.

Secondary Project
I have also had the good fortune to direct the excavation of an early 9th century shipwreck in Indonesian waters. The cargo consisted largely of ceramics, most of which are products of the Changsha kilns of China. These were either stowed directly in the hold, or were stacked inside large 'Dusun'-type storage jars produced in the Guangdong area. Smaller quantities of northern whiteware, sancai ware, and Yue or Yue-type ware were also recovered from the stern of the ship, along with some badly deteriorated silverware. The date implied by the ceramics has been confirmed by carbon dating.

But It is not the cargo that is of primary concern to me. In this instance much of the ship's hull has survived. The hull planks are stitched. They are overlain by light frames that are lashed onto the hull planks. A very light keel is reinforced by a keelson and longitudinal stringers. Large ceiling timbers resting on the keelson are thought to have been removable. Remnants of through-beams remain in place. A composite grapnel-type anchor still survives.

These are features of early Arab or Indian shipbuilding. Timbers from most major structural elements have been identified as Indian species, however, Indian woods were exported to the timber-scarce Middle East for vessel construction. At this stage it is impossible to say for certain whether the ship is Indian or Arabian. Evidence from the site makes India the stronger contender, however archaeological evidence provided by finds of Changsha ceramics makes the Middle East more likely. It may have even been an Indian ship trading with the Middle East.

Either way, from the location of the wreck and the nature of its cargo, the ship did call at a Chinese port. This site is the first archaeological evidence to 'prove' that vessels from the western Indian Ocean traded directly with China in the latter part of the first millennium.