Two divers board a dive elevator near Mado, a small island off Taean in South Chungcheong, on Nov. 4. NATIONAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE OF MARITIME HERITAGE TAEAN, South Chungcheong — A flat barge floats among scattered islets near Mado, a small Yellow Sea island about 10 minutes by boat from Sinjin Port in Taean, South Chungcheong. From the barge, two divers wearing 50 kilograms (110 pounds) of equipment plunged straight down — 13 meters (42.7 feet) below sea level — riding a dive elevator. The sounds of heavy breathing and rushing water filled the monitoring room on the barge. About ten minutes later, the divers returned with a yellow plastic basket filled with celadons dating back as far as 1,000 years. "These celadons are from the 10th century during the Goryeo Kingdom [918–1392] and these baekja [white porcelain] are from the 19th century during Joseon [1392–1910]," said Shin Jong-kuk, head of the underwater excavation department at the National Research Institute of Maritime Heritage, who was on the barge. "These ones that look intact, without any worn parts, have been buried inside soft mud." 알라딘릴 Reporters examine celadons uncovered from underwater near Mado in Taean, South Chungcheong, on Nov. 4. NATIONAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE OF MARITIME HERITAGE The two divers dove at the site where the research institute recently discovered traces of a shipwreck dubbed Mado No. 6, believed to be from the Goryeo era. Researchers uncovered remains of a celadon oil bottle, a stoneware kundika (ritual water vessel), rice-straw sacks and wooden cargo tags that belong to a sunken ship believed to have set sail from South Gyeongsang some 800 years ago. It would be the first shipwreck found in Korea to have departed from South Gyeongsang. Records on the wooden tags found in the remains identified the grain's senders as administrative heads of regions called Saju and Banseong, present-day Sacheon and Jinju in South Gyeongsang. Sacheon is where one of 13 state granaries for tax grain was located during the Goryeo era. Wooden tags uncovered from the shipwreck remains NATIONAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE OF MARITIME HERITAGE 모바일 레알 야마토 "Until now, we only knew that the Gyeongsang region had storage for tax grain but did not know if it was delivered elsewhere," said Mun Gyung-ho, a professor in the Department of History Education at Gongju National University, who participated in the excavation project. The institute also recovered hull fragments from Mado No. 5 after finding them last year. Based on inscriptions on the wooden tablets and scientific analysis of organisms found on the hull fragments, the institute dated Mado No. 5's voyage and wreck to 1208. "The wooden tablets found in its remains were inscribed with 'Twelfth Lunar Month of the Jeongmyo Year,' which points to 1207," said Shin. "But winter times are nearly impossible to set sail due to harsh weather and current conditions, so we suspect that the month indicates when the grain was collected and believe the vessel set sail in the spring of 1208." The latest study also found out that Mado No. 5 was part of a fleet that included Mado No. 1, another shipwreck uncovered in 2009 and located approximately 250 meters from Mado No. 5. "Through scientific analysis, we found that the handwriting on wooden tablets from Mado No. 카카오바다이야기 5 matches that on a tablet from No. 1. Both were sent from Anrohyeon [present-day Yeongam, South Jeolla], and the writing appears to be by the same person,” Shin said. While that could also suggest No. 1 and No. 5 were actually the same ship, the research team found that the wooden material used for the exterior of the two ships was drastically different in thickness and form. "We concluded that the ships launched from South Jeolla simultaneously and traveled together as a fleet, but met with harsh weather and sank at the same time." Researchers sanitize shipwreck remains. NATIONAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE OF MARITIME HERITAGE Researchers view the sea off Mado Island as an underwater museum because of its abundant shipwreck remains. Since the Goryeo era, the area has been called a ship graveyard because of its strong currents and winds. "But since the west coast has mudflats, a lot of the shipwreck remains, even the grain, get uncovered intact because inside the mud, it's like a vacuum," Mun said. "Such conditions are rare anywhere else in the world." The National Research Institute of Maritime Heritage plans to find the main hull of Mado No. 6 next year. BY JIN EUN-SOO [] to be by t