A deep-sea exploration mission off the coast of Sumatra has located the wreck of a 1,200-year-old trading vessel associated with the Srivijaya Empire. The ship, which lies in an anoxic zone 60 meters underwater, has maintained its structural integrity for over a millennium. It appears to have been part of the vast maritime trade network that linked Southeast Asia with the Abbasid Caliphate in the Middle East.
The vessel's cargo includes hundreds of intact ceramic vials containing traces of Arabian perfumes and resins, such as frankincense and myrrh. This find confirms the scale of the luxury goods trade between the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea during the 9th century. The wreck also yielded a collection of silver coins and high-fired stoneware, highlighting the sophisticated economic systems of the Srivijaya maritime thalassocracy.