The Underwater Archaeology Research Center of Shandong has initiated a 60-day underwater archaeological project in Weihai, East China’s Shandong Province, to excavate the wreckage of the Laiyuan, a prominent battleship of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) that capsized during the First Sino-Japanese War, known in China as the Jiawu War.
The Laiyuan, completed in Germany in 1887, was commissioned by the Qing Dynasty government and became part of the Beiyang Fleet that same year. In February 1895, the Laiyuan was torpedoed by the invading Japanese fleet in Weihai Bay, leading to the tragic death of all 30 people on board after the ship capsized and sank south of Liugong Island.
The ongoing excavation project will pump sand and debris from the site, providing crucial insights into the ship’s condition and archaeological materials for studying the First Sino-Japanese War and global naval history. Ye Daoyang, director of the Maritime Silk Road Museum of Guangdong in Yangjiang, highlighted the significance of underwater investigations for understanding modern Chinese history. He noted that the sunken Laiyuan suffered extensive damage after being destroyed by the Japanese post-capsizing, and it is anticipated that ammunition and daily use articles may be found either on the ship or in the surrounding sediment.
Gao Wenkui, director of the underwater archaeology research center, detailed the project’s process. The archaeological team will remove sand from a 300-square-meter area encompassing the bow, stern, and hull of the ship to assess its condition. Some remains will be collected for identification, and the ship’s overall archaeological value will be evaluated.
The current project follows a successful investigation in October 2022, where the research center collected over 200 relics from the Jingyuan, another sunken warship of the Beiyang Fleet. The collected items included a 210 mm Krupp shell, the largest caliber shell ever recovered in an underwater investigation, and the ship’s boiler and ammunition rooms were also identified.
The project’s commencement was preceded by an underwater archaeology forum held in Shandong in July, which focused on discussions regarding underwater archaeological technology, historical changes in the status of ports and harbors, and the protection and management of underwater cultural relics.
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