Treasures resurrected from watery grave

BEIJING, Dec. 24 (UPI) -- A 13th-century merchant ship has been raised from the South China Sea and now archaeologists will begin examining its cargo of porcelain and other treasures.

The Nanhai No. 1 went down in stormy weather as it left a southern Chinese port to sale the ancient Marine Silk Road. Because it was buried in silt, its cargo of 80,000 relics was largely preserved, The Independent reported Monday.

Salvage experts used a specially designed sealed steel box containing tons of seawater and silt to lift the ship from the seabed to maintain the environment in which it was been preserved for hundreds of years.

Initial excavations yielded green glazed porcelain plates, blue porcelain and gold, silver and tin pots, chinaware designed for markets in the Middle East, as well as 6,000 copper coins from the Song Dynasty, the British newspaper reported.

Tow boats pulled the barge carrying Nanhai No. 1, or "South China Sea No. 1," to a temporary port Sunday. It will be put on an air bed and sent to a custom-designed museum in the Guangdong province, the report said.