Belitung Shipwreck

Record summary

The Belitung, or Tang, shipwreck carried a large cargo of Chinese ceramics and metalwork, including material associated with the celebrated Changsha kilns. Its discovery provided unusually concentrated evidence for maritime trade between China and the western Indian Ocean. The vessel’s construction, route, commercial organization, and intended destination remain subjects of study, as do the archaeological and ethical consequences of commercial salvage. The wreck is valuable for comparing exchange networks, but cargo composition should not be treated as a complete picture of the ship’s crew or political affiliations.