MARITIME AND UNDERWATER CULTURAL HERITAGE

Breaker Reef Shipwreck

This shipwreck was accidentally discovered by fishermen on top of Breaker Reef located southwest of Palawan Island, approximately eight miles off the coast of Rizal municipality. One month of excavations by the National Museum of the Philippines (NMP) and the European Institute of Underwater Archaeology (EIASM) yielded high-fired, white-glazed monochrome ceramics, traces of iron cooking pans, lead and iron ingots, and a granite anchor stock. The ceramics were produced by kilns in Zhejiang and Fujian provinces in China during the Southern Sung period (1127–1279). No shipwreck remains were found, but the vessel may have been built in China based on the predominantly Chinese cargo and the granite anchor usually carried by Chinese vessels.

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