Chapter 1000 0-Year Ambergris

Fan Wubing was also very surprised by this new discovery of Qianzhong. He did not expect that there were so many things about regrets, some of which were really unheard of. See the unseen.

There are also many domestic experts who come to conduct research, especially many of them are veteran experts in the domestic archaeological field. He is not the kind of pseudo-expert who just publishes a book and shows off his reputation.

Fan Wubing warmly received these people and visited the various unearthed artifacts that had been sorted out.

The wooden chess pieces unearthed from the ship attracted everyone's special attention. It is a testimony to the cultural life of the boatmen. There are more than sixty chess pieces unearthed. One type is inscribed with a round frame filled with red, and the other type is written in ink or double-hook in red, with names such as generals, soldiers, elephants, chariots, cannons, horses, and soldiers, belonging to three sets. Chess sets of different shapes remain.

The discovery of chess pieces in ships shows that chess had been finalized in the Song Dynasty. The game of counter-play was popular in palaces, marketplaces, and even ships. They were recreational items for crew members.

Another very interesting discovery is that people sifted out thousands of shells from the sea mud in the cabin. There are also several pieces of coral, including ringed shells, hedge snails, crystal snails, silver-mouthed four-snails, milky jade snails, etc., which are dazzling and attractive. Colorful shells mark the thousands-mile route of ancient ships. They are also ornaments and decorations for the crew. By analyzing the types of shells, we can roughly infer where the sailors have been.

An expert who is known as Mr. Su in the field of domestic maritime ship archaeology said to Fan Wubing, "Ocean-going cargo ships in the Song Dynasty mainly sailed from the South China Sea to the Indian Ocean. The tropical high-temperature climate. Burning fire. It makes people talk. Every boat is boring. When the ship is about to cross the ocean, it must have a water tank to store food and drink. There is no need to worry about the wind in the ocean, but the presence of water is the key to life and death. Because the demand for fresh water is relatively large, the ship is equipped with a water tank. The seventh warehouse of the Houzhu Ancient Ship contains fresh water for drinking. Drinking water is extremely precious, so planned rationing must be adopted to allow individuals to save some in case of damage to the fresh water tank or other accidents.

The reason why old experts say this is because dozens of ancient ships unearthed in Hengshan Port have "water mark" labels, such as "such and such water mark" labels, and some are even tied with small ropes, which may be personal storage of the crew. A sign of fresh water. Many jars and bottles with lids among the unearthed objects may be the containers used by individuals to hold water, such as small octagonal wooden signs with the words "水记.". They may also serve as wooden lids for such water jars.

In fact, because of the long sailing time in the past, various living facilities were fully considered in terms of ship equipment. Zhou Qufei of the Song Dynasty recorded in "Lingwai Daida" that there were hundreds of people in a boat. A year's worth of grain was accumulated, and Qin Cheng made wine.

And this is a piece of relic unearthed from a Song Dynasty ship. It vividly displays life scenes to people: small square woven sacks were once filled with rice and other grains. The pig bones, sheep bones, fish bones and bird bones contained in some cabins are obviously the remaining bones eaten by the crew. The bird bones among them also reveal the green water's flood.

The long sea journey accompanied by flying birds.

Small-mouthed pottery bottles should be used to hold wine. For boatmen who have been dealing with wind and waves for many years, old wine is a must-have drink.

Scattered in each cabin are some peach, lychee, plum, Yang, and ginkgo stones. Olive pits, coconut shells, etc., they clearly show that hundreds of years ago, these summer fruits that were abundant along the southern coast enriched sailors' life on the water and increased moisture and nutrition.

Although Hengshan Port may not be like Quanzhou Port in the Song Dynasty, it specializes in Southeast Asia routes. But judging from the various goods carried on the ship, it seems that the ship traveled to more than one destination. After all, it was the route traveled by sea ships in the Song Dynasty. It was developed by navigators of all ages after going through hardships and dangers.

At that time, ships in Quanzhou Port were loaded with silk, porcelain, copper and iron, medicinal materials and other items, and they also brought back spices, jewelry, ivory, rhinoceros horns, tortoise shells and other products from Arabia, India, Southeast Asia and other places.

On this newly discovered Song Dynasty ship, more than two thousand kilograms of spices were unearthed, including sandalwood, agarwood, agarwood, agarwood, ambergris, as well as huji, tortoise shell, betel nut, etc. Most of these items were The spice horns produced in Srivijaya, Champa, and East Africa are important physical evidence of imported goods trafficked by maritime merchants in the Song Dynasty.

"It seems that we started doing cross-border trade in the Song Dynasty, transporting goods from Southeast Asia to the East to make money, haha." Fan Wubing couldn't help laughing after hearing the comments of these old experts.

A large part of the harvest before us will go to the Fan Investment Group. He couldn't help but feel bad, this was a lot of money.

The most rare thing is that the ambergris found are very well preserved and white.

The first country in the world where ambergris was discovered was ancient China.

During the Han Dynasty, Wang Min fished some off-white fragrant waxy drifts in the sea. This was the finished ambergris that had been naturally modified for many years. It ranges from a few kilograms to dozens of kilograms, and has a strong fishy smell... After six dryings, it can produce a long-lasting fragrance. When lit, the fragrance is overflowing, and it is more fragrant than the first day.

Some local officials purchased the treasures and presented them to the emperor as treasures, which were used as spices or medicines in the palace.

At that time, no one knew what kind of treasure it was. They consulted the alchemists in the palace. They thought it was the saliva of a dragon in the sea when it was sleeping, and it dripped into the sea water and solidified. Over time, it became ambergris.

Some people also say that during the Yin and Shang Dynasties, people had mixed ambergris, incense and plant spices to make sachets and hang them on the bedside or on the body.

It was the fishermen of Kotla Island in Saudi Arabia who really discovered the secret of ambergris. The people on this island mainly make a living by catching sperm whales. Ambergris is actually the excrement of sperm whales. Once, an old fisherman was cutting open A piece of ambergris was found in the intestines of a sperm whale.

At that time, the fishermen thought it was swallowed from the sea and did not take it seriously. However, the news spread like wildfire and attracted the attention of marine biologists. They immediately conducted in-depth research and finally solved the problem. The mystery of ambergris.

It turns out that giant squid and octopus have tough horny gu and radula in their mouths, which are very difficult to digest. When a sperm whale swallows a large mollusk, the gu and radula accumulate in the gastrointestinal tract, stimulating the intestines, and the intestines secrete a A special waxy substance that covers the remains of food. Slowly the ambergris formed.

Scientists once found coagulation of intestinal fluid and foreign matter in the intestine of an 18-meter-long sperm whale. They believed this was the beginning of ambergris. Some sperm whales would vomit the condensation, and some would excrete it from the intestine. Outside the body, only a small number of sperm whales retain ambergris inside their bodies.

The ambergris discharged into the sea is light black at first. Under the action of sea water, it gradually turns into gray, light gray, and finally white. The white ambergris has the best quality. It has to be soaked in sea water for more than a hundred years. Only when all the impurities are washed out can it become the best quality ambergris.

The ambergris taken from the intestines of the killed sperm whales has no value. It must float and soak in the seawater for decades to gain its high status. Some ambergris blocks are soaked in the seawater for as long as More than a hundred years.

Since ancient times. Ambergris is expensive, almost as valuable as gold. If you pick up white ambergris, it is even more priceless.

However, identify ambergris. You must have relevant knowledge of biology, ecology and chemistry, and have long-term experience in dealing with the ocean, which is not something ordinary people can do.

Nowadays, various ingredients in ambergris can be synthesized artificially, but they cannot completely replace the ambergris given to humans by the sea, because current human technology cannot yet reach the wonder and harmony of nature, especially natural ambergris. The ambergris in the perfume will form a thin film on the skin when added to the perfume, which can make the fragrance last for a long time.

Nowadays, the international market of natural dragon's fragrance is completely controlled by France, a major perfume country. The purchase price per kilogram is about 50,000 francs, and the processing price of fragrance companies is more than 100,000 francs per kilogram. However, with the large-scale hunting of sperm whales by humans, the resources of ambergris have been reduced year by year. Now the annual trade volume in the world has been reduced to less than 100 kilograms, and the quality is also declining year by year, completely unable to reach the original level.

It is really difficult to estimate the value of white ambergris that has been preserved for nearly a thousand years and is still intact, and it has such a history.

However, Fan Wubing had never thought of auctioning this batch of ambergris, so it would be best if he kept it for his own use. Since this kind of thousand-year-old ambergris cannot be found in the whole world, then if you have nothing to do, just light a little smoke and enjoy it like an emperor.

Continuously, some more valuable cultural relics were discovered from the sunken ship, such as some lacquerware from the Song Dynasty, which were exquisitely made and unique. The archaeologists who came after hearing the news were full of admiration for these things. Fan Wubing was so generous that he would give away all the items that were recognized as national treasures. Sent directly to the National Museum.

In fact, Fan Wubing knew very well that purely resource-based things, such as these thousand-year-old ambergris and the like, although precious, were difficult to classify as cultural relics, so he could do so without hesitation. He keeps it as his own, but there is no need to compete with others for ownership of things that archaeologists are jealous of, cultural relics that can awaken the memory of an era.

The excavation of the sunken ship has been ongoing, and by the eve of National Day, most of it was basically cleared out. However, looking at the current situation, they probably plan to salvage the entire ship, restore it as much as possible, and put it in a museum. exhibit.

Such a big thousand-year-old ship. It is an important piece of evidence in itself for studying the shipping culture of the Song Dynasty.

111 Today’s third update is delivered, the thousandth chapter of this volume, I’m a bit out of breath, please give me a month