<![CDATA[Archaeologists from the University of Ryukus, in collaboration with the Masuura city board of education, announced at a recent press conference that they have found a shipwreck off of Takashima Island. They believe the ship could have been a part of the fleet in a Mongol invasion. The scientists reckon that the ship may have sunk due to a typhoon that occurred about seven hundred years ago. Over the years, there have been numerous artefacts recovered from shipwrecks that were a part of the fleets sent to invade Japan in 1274 and 1281. The Mongol invasions started in 1206, and continued throughout the thirteenth century, peaking in the early parts of the fourteenth century. By the latter stages of the thirteenth century, the Mongol Empire covered much of Asia and Eastern Europe. Initialized by Genghis Khan when he united Mongol and Turk confederations, the Mongol invasions were some of the deadliest in history. The Mongols spread throughout Europe and Asia, wreaking havoc at a rate that has not been seen since. The Mongols deliberately brought with them the bubonic plague, which eventually resulted in the Black Death where almost two hundred million people died. Genghis Khan and his descendants conducted numerous invasions of China, where they destroyed the Jin dynasty in 1234, the Song dynasty in 1279, as well as the Bai Kingdom of Dali in 1253. They also invaded Korea and made them a vassal, but failed to conquer Japan, ultimately because of the massive typhoon that sunk many of their ships. These invasions were led by Kublai Khan. The ships that had survived the storm were met with swift opposition from the Japanese, and the Mongolians were forced to retreat. Some of the soldiers starved to death in the process, and others were killed in night attacks by the Japanese. The battles fought in the invasion attempts of 1274 and 1281 took place in northern Kyushu. In the latter, a total of 4,400 ships were sunk by a typhoon near Takashima Island. The Japanese named the storm "kamikaze", which means "divine wind", because it ultimately saved Japan from the Mongols. The recently found wreck, which lies fourteen meters below the surface, was discovered using sonar technology. The ship is just 1.7 kilometres away from another Mongol shipwreck which was discovered in 2011. This ship is in a much better condition than the one found in 2011, but the archaeologists are unable to determine its origin as no artefacts have been found as yet. There are however nine areas of interest around the ship that divers went to check out. Timbers were found in some of these spots, and they determined that the shipwreck consisted of the port and starboard structures near to the front of the ship. They found that the planks on the starboard side of the ship were at least eleven meters long. They also noticed stone ballast, which indicates that the ship's keel lies beneath it. The scientists plan to start excavation procedures by mid-2015, when they hope to determine the ship's size, structure, and origin. They expect to find some artefacts when excavations are complete.]]>
Japanese Shipwreck Could Be Related to Mongol Invasion
