The adventures of "Sinbad" in 1998 found their manifestation in reality when fishermen accidentally found off Belitung Island a sunken Arab ship loaded with a variety of huge and unique treasures.
This discovery is considered the most important in the waters of Southeast Asia. It can also be said that the ship that sank 1,200 years ago and reached the bottom with all its treasures without crashing, has transferred the legends to reality, so much so that some of the experts who took over the recovery of the treasure named the Arab sailor who captained the ship “Sinbad,” pointing out that This unique ship will help reveal the secrets of the Maritime Silk Road.
The sunken Arab trading ship from the ninth century was immersed in sea water at a depth of more than 20 meters.
Most experts believe that the ship was Arab and was on its return voyage from China, loaded with a shipment of luxury products. It sank in the waters of present-day Indonesia on its way to the city of Basra, Iraq, most likely.
Experts believe that the Sinbad ship had likely left Guangzhou, the largest Chinese port on the Maritime Silk Road, before it sank, pointing to about 10,000 foreign merchants, including Arabs and Persians, who lived in this Chinese port in the nineteenth century.
Surprisingly, among the tens of thousands of pottery vessels that were on board the sunken ship, one was found with a date written on it corresponding to the year 826 AD.
In June 2009, National Geographic magazine quoted John Jay, chief curator of the South and Southeast Asia Department at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, as saying, “Although it is known that Arab navigators often took the Maritime Silk Road and engaged in active trade, this It is the first Arab ship to be discovered in the waters of Southeast Asia.
The rare antiques that the sunken Arab ship carries, this expert describes as the richest and largest cargo from the beginning of the ninth century found in a single treasure.
It was also reported that the ship, during its reconstruction, turned out to be a traditional, light, single-masted Arab ship. It was 18 meters long and was built using African and Indian wood. It was also noted that the panels were not fastened together with nails, but were joined practically by sewing using fibers from coconut bark.
A private company called "Walterfang" took over the excavation and recovery of the pieces of this huge treasure. Gold and ceramic products were removed, in addition to jugs, spice containers, inkwells, jars and silver boxes inlaid with gold, dating back to the Tang dynasty that ruled China at the beginning of the ninth century.
The ship's contents were valued at eighty million dollars. Indonesia received $2.5 million in cash and some artifacts, while in 2005 the Singapore government purchased all the rest for $32 million.