Vietnam Binh Chau Tang Wreck

Discovery and Initial Recovery

In 2013, a violent storm exposed a shipwreck on the beach of Binh Chau in Quang Ngai province, central Vietnam. The discovery quickly drew the attention of local villagers, triggering a frantic wave of illicit pot-hunting. Consequently, most of the artifacts salvaged from the site suffered varying degrees of damage.

Amid this chaos, local ceramics collector Mr. Lam Du Xenh seized the opportunity to acquire a diverse range of wares from the site. Although many pieces were broken, they provided a remarkably comprehensive sample of the ship's cargo. Mr. Lam even managed to salvage remnants of the vessel's wooden hull, which he now preserves in a large, open shelter at his home. In 2014, accompanied by fellow collectors from Singapore, I had the privilege of visiting Mr. Lam to inspect these artifacts and examine the structural timbers firsthand.

The ceramics mix from this wreck is similar to that from the Tang Belitung wreck. It consisted of mainly Changsha painted wares, Yue Greenware, Xing type white wares and Guangdong greenwares. The construction technology appears to differ from the Belitung Dhow and likely of the Southeast Asian ship building technology.

Cargo Composition and Ship Structure

The ceramic assemblage from the Binh Chau wreck bears a striking resemblance to the famous Tang-era Belitung wreck. It primarily comprises:

Changsha painted wares (Hunan province)

Yue greenwares/celadons (Zhejiang province)

Xing-type white wares (northern China)

Guangdong green-glazed utility wares

However, while their cargoes are textually similar, the physical vessels themselves differ substantially. Preliminary observations indicate that the Binh Chau ship was constructed using Southeast Asian shipbuilding technology, contrasting sharply with the West Asian stitched-plank dhow construction of the Belitung vessel.

Among the Binh Chau cargo, a large number of Guangdong green-glazed jars feature black ink Arabic inscriptions on their bases. Epigraphic experts suggest these inscriptions are religious invocations or prayers seeking safe passage for the vessel and its goods. This discovery adds valuable material evidence to the historical narrative of active Arab merchant involvement in Tang maritime networks.

Traces of this historical Arab presence remain visible in Guangzhou today. The lighthouse of the Huaisheng Mosque (广州怀圣清真寺), built in an Islamic architectural style, historically guided foreign vessels entering the Guangzhou port during the Tang Dynasty. The mosque stands near Guangta Road (光塔路), an area where foreign merchants historically congregated, settled, and operated specialized markets—a history still reflected in the local street names today.

Dating the Wreck

The Binh Chau wreck can be reliably dated to the second half of the 9th century (late Tang Dynasty), placing it roughly 50 to 70 years later than the Belitung wreck, which is securely tied to 826 CE. This chronological gap is demonstrated by a comparative analysis of the Changsha wares from both sites:

Ceramic Feature Belitung Wreck (c. 826 CE)

Transparent light brown/yellow glaze with a green cast Creamy

Decorative Style: Meticulous iron-brown and copper-green painting of clouds, birds, floral motifs and abstract Arabic scripts Rapid

Binh Chau Wreck (Late 9th Century)

Glaze Typology: milky-white glaze with a subtle blue cast

Decorative Style: abstract brown and green splashes—a style Chinese scholars classify as a hallmark of late-stage Changsha production

This late Tang designation is further supported by recent terrestrial archaeology in China. An ancient pier site discovered in Changsha, dated to the Five Dynasties period (907–960 CE), yielded identical Changsha vessels featuring these abstract color splashes. This suggests that while the style emerged in the closing decades of the Tang Dynasty, production continued seamlessly into the early 10th century.

A small group of bowls in the Binh Chau cargo retain the classic yellow glaze seen in the Belitung wreck, but their execution differs. These transitional pieces feature foliated rims and distinct unglazed rings on their inner bases, an optimization for stack-firing inside the kilns.

Furthermore, the profiles of the ewers have evolved. The ewers from the Belitung wreck are stout and upright with angular, squared shoulders. In contrast, the Binh Chau ewers are elongated and slender with gently rounded shoulders. Several exhibit "dish-mouth" rims, a design feature that surged in popularity among various regional Chinese kilns during the late Tang and Five Dynasties periods.

Refining the Date: Epigraphic Evidence

Though initially inconclusive, a fragment of a Yue celadon bowl provided a critical breakthrough. The vessel features incised characters on its base. While the first character was clearly identified as Qian (乾), the second character was initially interpreted as the first four strokes of Heng (亨). Had...