Quang Ngai (VNS/VNA) - The excavation of an ancient wrecked ship offof Dung Quat Harbour in Binh Son district, the central province of Quang Ngai, hasbeen halted to consult the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

The total expense for the excavation is estimated at 48.4 billion VND (2million USD). However, according to director of the province’s Department ofCulture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Minh Tri, the wrecked ship has been severelydamaged and the uncovered items are not significant.

“The items are mainly broken pieces with only scientific value,” he said.

The ship, which was discovered in August 2017, was expected to contain manyhigh-grade porcelain objects dating from the Ming Dynasty in the 16th century.

According to a report by the department, the initial excavation fished outseveral pieces like pulleys, wood pieces and iron nails which demonstrated theexistence of a wrecked ship within the area. The ship is estimated to be 30mlong and 6m wide. It is located about 20m from the harbour at a depth of ninemetres

The excavation is taking place on an area of about 800sq.m and was expected tolast from June 29 to September 15, 2018. Due to several issues, the operationwas extended until May 31, 2019.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism approved the plan to excavate theship with the project funded by the State budget. The ministry also proposedusing another 10 billion VND (430,000 USD) from the province’s budget to payborder soldiers and local policemen protecting the site. The funds wereexpected to cover the excavation process and fishing out the ship. Thepreservation, restoration and exhibition of the ship and the items found insidewould require more studies and separate funding.

The wrecked ship is the first one to be excavated without the participation offoreign specialists and private companies.

A report by the provincial culture department revealed that the excavationyielded 10,000 pieces of Chinese porcelain produced during the Ming Dynasty.The high-grade porcelain was produced in China's Jiangxi and Fujian provinceswhile the ordinary pieces were produced in Guangdong Province.

The report also said the ship would be highly valuable if the excavated objectsremained intact.

The results of the excavation were expected to be of great academic value andenrich historians' understanding of the porcelain trade in Vietnam’s waters.

However, most of the excavated items proved to be small broken pieces ratherthan untouched items. Extracting the whole ship would be challenging because itlies beneath a quay that is under construction. Moreover, the report said theship has been severely damaged and would be difficult to restore.

“The Vietnam National Museum of History has therefore proposed halting theexcavation," Tri said. "Further evaluation of the results is beingconducted by the museum with co-ordination from the province’s Department ofCulture, Sports and Tourism."

According to Nguyen Van Doan, Vice Director of the Vietnam National Museum ofHistory, a press conference will be held as soon as there is a report on theMinistry of Culture, Sports and Tourism’s decision.-VNS/VNA