The third "Mongol Invasion Ship," believed to have sunk during the Kamakura Period in a so-called "divine wind," was discovered on the seabed off Takashima in Matsuura City, Nagasaki Prefecture. The structure of the ship remains intact, and it is believed to be in better condition than the two ships found so far. "An exciting investigation" at a depth of 18 meters Matsuura City Mayor Yoshiyasu Tomoda said, "We were able to achieve the greatest possible result of discovering the third sunken ship within the limited budget and implementation period." Matsuura City, Nagasaki Prefecture, held a press conference on the 11th and announced that the third "Mongol Invasion Ship" was discovered off Takashima. This year's investigation, which began on October 1, was to confirm whether the timber found last year was from a Mongol invasion ship. Professor Eiji Ikeda of Kokugakuin University said, "We will now begin the work of confirming that it is indeed a ship. If we can confirm it, it will be the third ship. In that sense, this further proves the methodological correctness of the search so far." The excavation will be expanded from the area where the timber was found last year. Professor Ikeda Eiji of Kokugakuin University: "An exciting investigation" A structure characteristic of Chinese ships was confirmed On the seventh day of the investigation, a surprising result was found. RKB reporter Imabayashi Takashi: "The water is 18 meters deep. Under the finely deposited mud, many pieces of wood were lying dormant. The planks were lined up in an orderly fashion, and the three-dimensional structure was maintained. The color and shape of the wood was very beautiful, and it looked as if it had sunk only recently." The bulkheads dividing the interior of the ship and the bottom of the ship were confirmed to be characteristic of Chinese ships of that time. It was confirmed to be a "ship of Mongol invasion" that attacked during the "Kōan Invasion" in 1281. Professor Ikeda Eiji of Kokugakuin University: "It's definitely a ship. The way the wood is put together is clearly a ship's structure, and the characteristics of the structure make it clear that it is a ship from southern China. It's amazing. The shape of the bottom of the ship has been preserved very well, so I would really like to dig up the whole ship and see it." "Candidate for salvage" A ship archaeology expert who confirmed the excavation situation in a good state of preservation also said it was a surprising discovery. "It's amazing. We're keeping the ship in its current position and recording what remains of it. I think this is the first time we've seen such a case involving a Chinese ship from medieval East Asia." The third ship is considered to be in better condition than the previous two. "I think the third ship is in very good condition. I think it will be one of the candidates when considering salvaging it in various ways in the future." Daggers and ring-shaped metal products were also discovered. Various discoveries were made during this survey. Deputy Chief of the Matsuura City Cultural Properties Division, Haruki Hayata, "We call it ring-shaped because it's shaped like a ring, but we'll have to wait for overseas materials and analysis of its composition to find out what it was actually used for." Chinese ceramics, daggers, ring-shaped metal products, and boards with ink writing were also found. Preparation of preservation facilities Although Takashima has seen a succession of world-class discoveries, there are no facilities to preserve and display large ships after they are salvaged. Mayor of Matsuura City, Yoshiyasu Tomoda, said, "We have received a lot of attention from the public about the Mongol Invasion ruins, and we believe that these important documents should be investigated further. We must work harder to increase the number of supporters who support this." This year's investigation only unearthed part of the hull, and the size of the ship is unknown. It will be interesting to see what kind of investigation will be carried out next year and beyond, and how the results will be conveyed to future generations. For more details, see NEWS DIG! ↓ https://newsdig.tbs.co.jp/articles/rk...