MARITIME EXPLORATIONS
Intan Wreck
(Mid-10th Century)
Background
The Intan Wreck was found by Indonesian fishermen only 10 miles from the Java Sea Wreck. The navy arrested the fishermen when they started to plunder the wreck, and gave the position to an Indonesian salvage licensee. Mike Flecker carried out an investigation survey, and then directed the full excavation for a joint-venture incorporating the Indonesian licensee and the German company, Seabed Explorations, in 1997.
The site turned out to be a magnificent find, the oldest Southeast Asian wreck with a complete cargo. Carbon dating augmented ceramic and coin analysis to confirm a mid-10th century date. While little of the hull remained, timber identification and structural details indicated that the ship was an Indonesian lashed-lug craft. She was probably bound from the Srivijayan capital, Palembang, for central or eastern Java.
Spread
As the cargo was not too extensive, a low budget excavation was conducted from a modified fishing boat, with a second boat relaying the artefacts to Jakarta for conservation. Diving was by means of hooka with in-water decompression at this relatively shallow site, and excavation was carried out with water dredges.
Recovered Cargo
The recovered cargo was extremely diverse. It consisted of several thousand Chinese ceramics, Siamese fine-paste-ware, base metal ingots of bronze, tin, lead and silver, Indonesian gold jewellery, bronze religious and utilitarian artefacts, Chinese mirrors, Arab glass, iron pots, and a wide range of organic materials.
More Details
· The Intan Wreck is located some 40 nautical miles off the coast of Sumatra, nearly half way between Bangka and Jakarta. At a depth of 26 m she forms an oasis on an otherwise featureless undulating silty seabed.
· The cargo is extremely diverse. There are ceramics, silver ingots, mirrors, and ironware from China; tin ingots and currency from the Malay Peninsula; fine-paste-ware kendis and bottles from Thailand; and glass and amphorae from the Middle-East. Indonesian products include bronze ingots, gold coins and jewellery, aromatic resin, scales sets, and grind stones. Buddhist figurines, kala-head door knockers, oil lamps, mirrors, votive tablet moulds, pellet bells, vajra and ghanta are all beautifully depicted in Indonesian bronze. Organics such as elephant tusks and teeth, tiger teeth, sambar antlers, and even human bones and a molar remarkably survived.
· The Intan ship was supplying metal deficient Java with all the necessities for day-to-day life, be they religious, ceremonial, or commercial. She clearly demonstrates the important role of the entrepot port, when Srivijaya was the power to be reckoned with.
Cargo Disposition
The Intan cargo has been returned to Indonesia as part of a division of proceeds deal for the Belitung (Tang) Shipwreck cargo, which was funded by the same company. Much of it is on display at the Ceramics Museum in Jakarta.
Publications
1. The Archaeological Excavation of the 10th Century Intan Wreck, Flecker, M., Ph.D. thesis, National University of Singapore, 2001: BAR International Series 1047, Oxford, 2002.
2. Treasures from the Java Sea: The 10th Century Intan Shipwreck, Flecker, M., Heritage Asia Magazine, Vol. 2, No. 2, December 2004 - February 2005.
