According to Kyodo News, a news agency in Japan, a ship from the Yuan Dynasty was found on the seabed near Eagle Island in Matsuura City, Nagasaki Prefecture, on the 28th. Dice and other card-like objects were discovered on the ship.
Experts involved in the investigation speculate that these items were likely entertainment items for the crew at that time, and could have been game equipment considered as the "origin of mahjong". The Japanese side will conduct a detailed analysis of the objects recovered from the water.
In this area, 3 warships from the Yuan Dynasty have been sunk. This is the first time such objects have been discovered.
At the scene, pottery and iron objects suspected to be kitchen knives were also unearthed. Based on this, it is inferred that this area once served as a kitchen on a ship.
The Japanese professor of archaeology at the University of Tokyo, Ikeda Ryōsuke, who participated in the investigation, said: "Perhaps the crew members taking turns cooking took advantage of their rest time to play card games. This allowed us a glimpse into the lifestyle of the sailors at that time."
Since 2011, three sunken ships belonging to the Yuan army have been discovered off Eagle Island. Starting from the 2nd of this month, Matsuro City has conducted an investigation into the third shipwreck, which is located about 150 meters offshore and at a depth of less than 20 meters.
This survey confirmed the existence of wreckage of the stern of the ship buried beneath the sea. It was also found that there were partition walls suspected to have been used to separate the compartments, as well as a "keel" structure that served as the main beam of the ship’s hull. Based on the remnants of the hull discovered in previous surveys, it is estimated that the total length of this ship was approximately 30 meters.
The Yuan army attacked Japan twice during the Kamakura period in the 13th century. In the second attack, in 1281, known as the Hong'an Campaign, the Yuan troops encountered a storm, and their fleet was believed to have sunk near the Japanese island of Oki.
