Michael Flecker

that the earliest Chinese ceramics to be found in
southern India date to the eleventh century, with
most attributable to the thirteenth and fourteenth
centuries. 77 So, from archaeological evidence
there is a much higher probability that the
Belitung ship was heading for the Persian Gulf.
Of course, there are also significant Tang ceramic
finds in Indonesia, notably at Palembang and the
Prambanan temple complex in central Java. But
it is hardy likely, although not impossible, that an
Arab or Indian ship would be used to deliver a
cargo of Chinese ceramics exclusively to the Indonesian
market when these wares were so much
in demand in the Middle Eastern ports.
It is unlikely that lead and ceramics formed the
only bulk cargo items on the Belitung ship. Silk
was another major Chinese export at the time,
largely due to a monopoly on silk production.
Spices were also very much in demand in the
Middle East. It is quite possible that the Belitung
ship was heading for an Indonesian port to top
up her cargo with spices from the eastern Archipelago
before finally embarking on the long
crossing of the Indian Ocean.
Conclusions
From an analysis of construction methods, hull
form, and construction materials it has been
conclusively determined that the Belitung wreck
is an Arab or Indian vessel. The timber identifications
hint at Indian construction, but as Indian
woods are known to have been exported to the
Middle East for shipbuilding, Arab construction
cannot be ruled out. The archaeological evidence
for the trade in Chinese ceramics indicates that
the Middle East is a far more likely destination
for the Belitung ship with its cargo of Changsha
ceramics. There is even a chance that an Indian
ship was conducting the trade between the Middle
East and China, or that an Indian-built ship
was owned by the Arabs, as is often the case
today. Hourani’s sweeping statement, ‘The sea
route from the Persian Gulf to Canton was the
longest in regular use by mankind before European
expansion in the sixteenth century.’, 78 while
not being conclusively supported by material
evidence, certainly seems to hold water.
77 Subbarayalu 1994, 113.
78 Hourani 1995, 61.
A Ninth-Century Arab or Indian Shipwreck in Indonesia 39