Launch of ‘1434’
Gavin has returned to London from Hong Kong, following the successful launch of his new book, 1434 – The Year a Magnificent Chinese Fleet Sailed to Italy and Ignited the Renaissance. The launch took place at the Royal Geographical Society, Hong Kong, and there was a further talk at the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club. To listen to Gavin’s interview with Sarah Passmore please visit the following link: http://www.rthk.org.hk/rthk/radio3/naked_lunch/20080530.
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100 foot long Chinese junk raised from sea bed
The 1421 hypothesis has gained a lot of momentum over the past 12 months and in December the U.K.’s Sunday Times newspaper published an article alluding to Gavin’s research. As you can see from the link below, a 100 foot long Chinese junk, dating from the Southern Song dynasty, has been raised from the sea bed off the coast of China, as part of a hugely ambitious archaeological project. Although excavation and cataloguing of the ship’s contents will take some years, we are sure it will turn out to be yet another string in the 1421 bow. As Tim Pattison of the Sunday Times writes “It is hoped that the Nanhai will prove the existence of a marine silk road that linked southern China with Europe as well as Africa and Southeast Asia ”
We can but wait and see…. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/ article3087296.ece
We can but wait and see…. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/ article3087296.ece
A fleet of Chinese junks wrecked on the Pacific coast of North America?
In March, 2007, Gavin travelled to the Pacific coast of the USA where he was hot on the trail of the wreck of a very old Chinese junk. It turns out, after a recent update received in October 2007, that there are potentially over 40 unidentified wrecks lying under the sand dunes on this inhospitable part of the coastline. Initially located with magnetic anomaly surveys, one of these wrecks has been corroborated using an independent Ground Penetrating Radar test.
This discovery mirrors and corroborates Cedric Bell’s work in New Zealand because of many unusual aspects of the wrecked ships, and is consistent with the damage caused by a tsunami as we believe wrecked a fleet in New Zealand.
We recently applied for permission to carry out core sample drilling and await these results with great anticipation!
This discovery mirrors and corroborates Cedric Bell’s work in New Zealand because of many unusual aspects of the wrecked ships, and is consistent with the damage caused by a tsunami as we believe wrecked a fleet in New Zealand.
We recently applied for permission to carry out core sample drilling and await these results with great anticipation!
Chinese shipwrecks in the Caribbean?
A little over 20 years ago, whilst diving in the Caribbean, a friend of ‘1421’ came across some shards of Ming Dynasty porcelain and a piece of Blue Ingot Glass, shaped into a heart. Along with the shards, he discovered a Bronze Step Cover and pieces of Medicine Jars made of thick black and brown glass, and some unusually shaped lead pieces. The glass resembles some of the first glass ever made in China. The ship’s bell and anchor, which have been retrieved, have no markings on them. Local folklore has it, that this ship sank long ago, during a hurricane with no survivors.
In 1992 renowned treasure hunter Mel Fisher had one of his archeological team confirm that they were not from any Spanish, English or Danish ships, and beyond that he could not shed any light on the ship’s origin, other than the shards were from the Ming Dynasty Era and the step cover was unlike anything he had ever seen before. We would be most interested to hear your views on this find. We are not able to divulge the precise location of the wrecks as yet.
To view pictures of the wrecks and associated artefacts, please click here
In 1992 renowned treasure hunter Mel Fisher had one of his archeological team confirm that they were not from any Spanish, English or Danish ships, and beyond that he could not shed any light on the ship’s origin, other than the shards were from the Ming Dynasty Era and the step cover was unlike anything he had ever seen before. We would be most interested to hear your views on this find. We are not able to divulge the precise location of the wrecks as yet.
To view pictures of the wrecks and associated artefacts, please click here
Chinese version of the 1421 website
The site can be found at: http://1421.phoenixtv.com
It has already gained a considerable audience, and we hope it will continue to expand in the same way as the English version. We look forward to all the exciting possibilities that this will open up in the future.
