Beneath the UNESCO-listed tidal flats of Korea’s west coast, clay-rich mud sealed away a shipwreck so perfectly that its 12th-century celadon cargo now gleams like new
When South Korean archaeologists announced on Nov. 10 that they had raised a 15th-century tax ship from the seabed off the western coast of Taean, photographs of another find from the same waters also drew major attention.
Next to the Joseon-era (1392-1910) vessel known as Mado 4, divers had located two tightly stacked bundles of celadon from the Goryeo Kingdom (935-1392), 87 pieces in total, believed to date from around 1150 to 1175. After basic cleaning, the bowls and cups were presented to the press, neatly arranged on black fabric and acrylic stands, surfaces gleaming under the lights.
But if these were really nearly 900 years old, how could they look as if they had just come out of a furnace?
Researchers at the National Research Institute of Maritime Cultural Heritag
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