FILE: At Sea - Exact Location and Date Unknown (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
1. China's scientific research ship Tansuo (Exploration) -1

Hainan Province, south China - May 20, 2023 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
2. Press conference in progress

FILE: At Sea - Exact Location and Date Unknown (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
3. Various of manned submersible "Deep Sea Warrior"
4. Various of porcelain from ancient shipwreck underwater
5. Various of wood from ancient shipwreck underwater

Two ancient shipwrecks, probably from the mid-Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), together with large-scale cultural relics, were discovered from about 1,500 meters underwater in South China Sea, according to information released by the National Cultural Heritage Administration (NCHA) of China on Sunday.

The discovery, one of China's major discovery in deep-sea archaeology and also a world-class major archaeological discovery, was officially released at a press conference held in south China's Hainan Province.

According to the NCHA, researchers successfully established a permanent underwater mapping foundation in the southwest corner of the shipwreck site on Saturday with manned submersible "Deep Sea Warrior" and under the support from China's scientific research ship Tansuo (Exploration) -1.

The preliminary search and investigation as well as image recording were also carried out.

The two ancient shipwrecks were discovered in October last year at an underwater depth of about 1,500 meters near the northwest continental slope of the South China Sea.

One mainly consists of porcelain relics, estimated to contain more than 100,000 pieces dating back to the reign of Emperor Zhengde of the Ming Dynasty (1506-1521).

Porcelain relics found from the No.1 shipwreck covered more than tens of thousands of square meters on the seabed, with stacking height up to three meters.

The other, No.2 shipwreck, mainly contains a large number of wood logs. Through a preliminary study, it was determined that the sunken ship was loaded with cargo and had sailed from overseas to ancient China. It dates back to the reign of Emperor Hongzhi of the Ming Dynasty (1488-1505).

With the approval of NCHA, joint efforts between research institutes and a local museum will be made to carry out further archaeological investigations involving the two shipwrecks in three phases for about a year.

Researchers will make further archaeological and site protection plans for the next step after scientifically evaluate the preservation status and technical conditions of the shipwreck according to survey results.