A maritime archaeological excavation in Singapore waters has uncovered the Temasek Wreck—an assemblage that is both locally unprecedented and globally significant for Yuan dynasty ceramics. The excavation, carried out intermittently between 2016 and 2019, recovered approximately 3.5 tonnes of ceramic shards along with a small number of intact or nearly intact pieces.
Most striking is the scale of the Yuan blue-and-white porcelain: the author Dr Michael Flecker, from HeritageSG, a subsidiary of Singapore National Heritage Board, reports that the wreck is "the first ancient shipwreck ever found in Singapore waters", and that its blue-and-white cargo exceeds that of any other documented shipwreck.
The recovered blue-and-white alone weighs about 136 kg, comprising over 2350 shards plus several intact or near-intact objects (about 3.9% of the ceramic cargo by weight).
Beyond blue-and-white from Jingdezhen, China—known for its history of ceramic production that peaked during the Ming and Qing dynasties—the cargo includes a wide variety of Longquan celadon, Jingdezhen qingbai (bluish-white glazed) and shufu (“Privy Council”) wares, Dehua whiteware, greenwares probably from Fujian, and Fujian Cizao storage jars and small-mouth jars.
Dr Flecker notes that—even with relatively few intact pieces—the overall ceramic quality is often "superlative", particularly for Jingdezhen blue-and-white and qingbai / shufu wares, as well as Longquan celadon.
The study also addresses the ship and its route. Although no hull survives, associated evidence supports identification as a Chinese junk. Flecker proposed the vessel likely loaded at Quanzhou of Fujian in the mid-14th century and was bound for the thriving entrepot of Temasek (port that preceded modern Singapore), making this tightly dated assemblage a valuable reference collection for comparing less-provenanced finds.
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Contact the author: Dr Michael Flecker, HeritageSG (subsidiary of Singapore National Heritage Board), Singapore. Email: michael_flecker@heritage.sg
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Case study
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The Temasek Wreck ceramics cargo: Yuan blue-and-white porcelain, celadon and other ceramics found in Singapore waters
Michael Flecker works at HeritageSG, a subsidiary of Singapore National Heritage Board. In addition, this project was funded by the National Heritage Board of Singapore.