MELAKA, MALAYSIA—The Straits Times reports that pieces of a wooden ship estimated to have been between 160 and 230 feet long have been unearthed on Malayasia’s Pulau Melaka, or Malacca Island. Ruzairy Arbi of Malaysia’s National Heritage Department said that the ship was discovered during an excavation conducted by his department and the Melaka Museum Authority. Initial study suggests that the vessel was made of saga wood, which is native to the Malay Archipelago, and dates to the thirteenth century. “At this stage, we are still assessing the available data and artifacts to piece together the ship’s history,” he said. “We plan to extract these components and carry out conservation work to better understand how it was constructed,” he concluded. For more on Malaysian archaeology, go to "Off the Grid: Lembah Bujang, Malaysia."
