the Editor says: Underwater archaeology uses diving and survey technologies to study cultural heritage on the seabed, exploring historical traces buried by tectonic shifts, shipwrecks, and other causes. The work is enormously challenging, requiring researchers to overcome the many constraints of the underwater environment. Taiwan only began developing underwater archaeology in the past 20 years or so, with Tsang Cheng-hwa establishing a professional team that has successfully identified the historical background of multiple shipwrecks. Underwater artefacts carry vital significance for the protection and interpretation of cultural heritage, and we believe these discoveries will open many new chapters in human history. Full article reprinted from Research Digest (研之有物).
Why Study "Underwater Archaeology"?
Because of tectonic movements, changes in sea level, and the sinking of aircraft and vessels, countless human sites and artefacts have been buried deep on the vast ocean floor. Underwater archaeology applies professional diving and underwater survey technologies, combined with historical research and artefact conservation perspectives, to study this submerged cultural heritage. Like archaeology on land, it is an essential endeavour through which humanity learns from the past to understand the present.
Launching the Underwater Archaeology Programme: Blazing a Trail Through Uncharted Territory
Remember the film Titanic? A team of experts used equipment to descend to the ocean floor, entering the hull of a sunken giant that had lain on the seabed for nearly a century, hoping to find lost treasure. In the end, no treasure was found — but what they discovered was a bittersweet story that moved countless people around the world.
Underwater archaeology is much the same: finding stories beneath the water — and finding treasure, too. Only this treasure is not gold or jewels, but precious human cultural heritage.
Underwater archaeology team members surveying and mapping the wreck of the Yamatofuji Maru. Many people confuse underwater archaeology with underwater treasure hunting or salvage operations. In fact, underwater archaeology is both a technique and a discipline — its formal name is "underwater archaeology." Photo courtesy of Tsang Cheng-hwa
Although humans live on land, thousands upon thousands of years of tectonic change can turn fertile fields into open sea, submerging the traces of our ancestors' lives beneath the water. Another scenario involves accidents or wars that send aircraft and vessels — along with artefacts and records — plunging to the bottom.
The vast ocean floor in fact holds the footprints of historical development stretching from antiquity to the present day. Underwater archaeology is the field dedicated to studying them.
Moving the archaeological site to the seafloor is extraordinarily difficult. Water pressure, ocean currents, visibility, and oxygen supply all limit humanity's ability to explore the deep. It was not until the mid-20th century, after the invention of scuba diving, that diving and survey techniques advanced far enough to open humanity's eyes to the underwater world. And Taiwan did not begin developing this field until roughly 20 years ago; the country's pioneer is Academician Tsang Cheng-hwa of Academia Sinica.
Tsang Cheng-hwa, Taiwan's foremost authority on archaeology, previously led one of the country's landmark excavation projects: the Tainan Science Park site. From 2006 onward, he extended archaeology's reach into the ocean, becoming a key pioneer in the preservation of Taiwan's underwater cultural heritage. Photo courtesy of Research Digest (研之有物)
Tsang Cheng-hwa first encountered underwater archaeology while pursuing his graduate studies in the United States. He recognised that Taiwan is surrounded by sea on all sides, that the Taiwan Strait was dry land some 12,000 years ago, and that in modern times it has served as a pivotal maritime corridor — all of which means there must be a wealth of underwater sites worthy of research and protection. It was not until 2006, however, when the Executive Yuan issued the "National Ocean Policy Guidelines" in response to international ocean development trends and the government's own maritime policy needs, that the authorities finally began to pay serious attention to the importance of marine cultural heritage.
Underwater archaeology was a brand-new field for Taiwan at the time, and its greatest challenge was simply a shortage of talent. As a long-time advocate for the field, Tsang Cheng-hwa naturally accepted the commission from the Council for Cultural Affairs and set about building a professional team. It was a massive undertaking from scratch: he had to recruit experts from Australia, the United States, and Europe to come and train local personnel.
We had to make archaeologists understand diving, and make diving experts understand archaeology.
Underwater archaeology draws heavily on modern scientific instruments, including side-scan sonar, magnetometers, echo sounders, and sub-bottom profilers. Divers can reach depths of approximately 30 metres; with specialised scuba tanks, that range can be extended to around 50 metres. For areas beyond human reach or too dangerous for divers, remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) are deployed in their place.
Various underwater survey instruments used by the underwater archaeology team. Photo courtesy of Tsang Cheng-hwa
The underwater archaeology team using a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) to verify a shipwreck underwater. Photo courtesy of Tsang Cheng-hwa
But in such a vast ocean, where does one even begin to look? This is where archaeologists' signature skills come into play. The first approach is to comb through historical documents for clues — cross-referencing the natural environment and historical records to determine where sites might have existed, which shipping lanes were most accident-prone, and which areas are most likely to contain wrecks. The second approach relies on oral history.
Many fishing boat captains are in fact hidden experts in underwater archaeology.
Tsang Cheng-hwa laughed as he explained: "The captains know exactly where a wreck has snagged a fishing net, or where casting a net is likely to haul up a pile of ceramic tiles and earthenware jars." The firsthand experiences of coastal fishermen and divers are invaluable data. In the phase of narrowing down survey areas, Tsang's team often had to invest considerable effort in building rapport with these individuals — and in the process, they gained not only vital intelligence, but also deep friendships and a warm sense of human connection.
Uncovering Shipwrecks: Precious Repositories of Cultural Heritage Resting on the Seabed
After extensive investigation and filtering, Tsang Cheng-hwa's team designated several "survey-sensitive zones" in areas including Penghu, Tainan's Anping, Green Island, and Dongsha Atoll. Using sonar and other equipment to map the underwater terrain, they identified more than 200 targets. The team then began working through the list methodically, diving to verify each one. So far, 85 of those targets have been confirmed as shipwrecks.
Every new wreck discovery excites the research team — yet the real "archaeology" work has only just begun at that point.
The first step in underwater archaeology is "identification" — using the ship's appearance and its contents, together with historical records, to establish the vessel's true identity.
To date, 17 wrecks have had their identities confirmed, spanning a range of periods from the Song Dynasty through to World War II. Four of these have been given priority listing and protection by the Ministry of Culture due to their exceptional cultural heritage and research value.
One example is a Qing Dynasty wreck at Kongqiao Islet: from its cargo — ceramics, building materials, and the like — researchers can infer the trade and maritime patterns of the era. Another is the British steamship SS Bokhara, which sank in 1892: this typhoon-related disaster claimed the lives of approximately 130 people and made global headlines at the time.
The British steamship SS Bokhara was carrying members of the Hong Kong Cricket Club to Shanghai for a competition in 1892. On the return voyage, it encountered a typhoon while passing north of Taiwan and ultimately sank near Gupao Island in Penghu, claiming approximately 130 lives with only around 20 survivors. Photo courtesy of Tsang Cheng-hwa
The underwater remains of the British steamship SS Bokhara, now covered by sea sand and coral reef. Photo courtesy of Tsang Cheng-hwa
The Guangbing, which sank in Penghu in 1895, was one of China's first self-built Western-style warships of the late Qing era; it saw action in the First Sino-Japanese War before being captured by Japan. The Yamatofuji Maru, sunk in 1942, was a merchant vessel commandeered by the Japanese military for transport during World War II and subsequently sunk by American forces. Both ships bear witness to the turbulent and battle-scarred pages of history.
The Japanese transport ship Yamatofuji Maru sank on 19 October 1942 in the waters off Penghu. Intriguingly, the United States claims the ship was torpedoed by the American submarine USS Finback, while Japanese records describe the cause as "running aground." Tsang Cheng-hwa notes that such "competing narratives" are commonly encountered in war-related historical sources. Photo courtesy of Tsang Cheng-hwa
The underwater remains of the Japanese transport ship Yamatofuji Maru. Photo courtesy of Tsang Cheng-hwa
Every small object and every faint mark on a wreck has a story to tell an archaeologist. But the first critical challenge is determining how to conserve and house the artefacts recovered from the water.
While these objects may have been corroded by seawater and encrusted with coral, barnacles, and other organisms, they have reached a stable equilibrium over time, functioning like a sealed time capsule of historical material. Once retrieved from the water, dramatic changes in the surrounding environment — light, pressure, air — can cause catastrophic damage to the artefacts. The research team must therefore proceed with extreme care from the very moment of recovery through to desalination treatment in the laboratory, selecting appropriate conservation measures based on the material and condition of each object.
Only after that comes the storytelling: the analysis and interpretation of the artefacts. Like piecing together a jigsaw puzzle, researchers connect small clues — from individual points to lines to a complete picture — reconstructing what once occurred, and allowing humanity to understand its present self through the remnants of the past.
A Decade of Forging the Sword: Looking Ahead to the Next Generation
Underwater archaeology team members conducting a search and survey underwater. Photo courtesy of Tsang Cheng-hwa
Looking to the future of the underwater archaeology programme, Tsang Cheng-hwa's concerns centre on the sustained cultivation of professional talent and the development of a broader industry around underwater cultural heritage.
Since the research team was established in 2006, policy-level issues — gaps in project continuity and a mismatch between training and employment — have made it difficult to retain qualified specialists. Tsang is not discouraged, however. He believes that when these professionals carry their underwater archaeology expertise and perspectives into other fields, they are in a sense spreading seeds far and wide. Through long-term cultivation, those seeds will one day flower, inspiring a fresh wave of passionate new talent. The government's forthcoming establishment of an "Underwater Cultural Heritage Research Centre" will give underwater cultural heritage exploration and preservation work greater continuity, and will be a tremendous boon for talent development.
The next step is to build a healthier overall industry. "The Vasa Museum in Sweden and the Mary Rose Museum in the United Kingdom are both excellent examples that combine educational value with economic benefit," said Tsang. These two museums built around shipwrecks have, through thorough long-term planning, not only successfully achieved the goal of protecting underwater cultural heritage but also generated enormous tourism value — models well worth emulating at home.
"But you must take the long view. Preserving underwater cultural heritage is a prolonged campaign. If you go in with a short-term, quick-profit mentality — killing the goose for the golden egg — you will only end up destroying the artefacts and failing to achieve your tourism goals. Everyone loses." Tsang offered this caution with heartfelt gravity.
How Did You Come to Devote Yourself to Underwater Archaeology?
Many of my colleagues get seasick on boats. I never do at all. It turns out that I was born in Qingdao, Shandong, and when I was just one year old my mother took me on a ship, and we drifted at sea for over a month on the voyage to Taiwan. My affinity with the ocean is encoded deep in my DNA. (laughs)
When it came to the university entrance exam, the prevailing attitude back then was to choose the school, not the department, so I filled in almost every programme at National Taiwan University — the only one I left out was archaeology, which sounded terribly dull. But my high school teacher told me that archaeology was actually quite lucrative: authenticating a single oracle bone inscription could earn you tens of thousands. So I reluctantly went back and changed my application, nearly rubbing a hole in the form in the process. As fate would have it, archaeology was the very programme I was accepted into — quite the unexpected twist.
I did consider switching departments, but during the summer before my second year, our teacher took us to conduct fieldwork at the Liyu Mountain site in Taitung, and I discovered that archaeology was absolutely fascinating. I abandoned the idea of transferring, and just like that, several decades passed. The celebrated words of Fu Ssu-nien — founding director of the Institute of History and Philology at Academia Sinica and former president of National Taiwan University — have become the motto of my life: Search the highest heavens and the deepest earth; get your hands moving and find things.
References
- Tsang Cheng-hwa's personal webpage
- March 2015 Knowledge Banquet: "Stories of Ancient Taiwanese" (video)
- Episode 51: Professor Tsang Cheng-hwa's Ocean Journey (video)
- Full article reprinted from Academia Sinica Research Digest: Opening the Treasure Chest of the Deep Sea — Tsang Cheng-hwa and Underwater Archaeology
Further Reading
