Post by NZBC on May 13, 2007 14:52:30 GMT 12
A British amateur archaeologist believes he has found the remains of a 15th-century Chinese ship buried in cliffs at Wakanui Beach.
The claim is part of controversial research by Cedric Bell, a retired engineer who has spent the past year gathering what he believes is proof of an ancient Chinese civilisation in New Zealand, which pre-dated Maori by several centuries.
Mr Bell told the Ashburton Guardian there was evidence that a huge tsunami had hit the coast of New Zealand about 1422. The tsunami had been caused by a meteorite, which was believed to have landed in the sea south of Stewart Island.
What he believes to be the remains of an upturned Chinese junk is clearly outlined in cliffs at Wakanui Beach, about 300 metres south of the car park.
Mr Bell said there was growing evidence the Chinese had settled in New Zealand up to 2000 years ago.
They had built several sophisticated settlements in the South Island, including a fortified city at Rakaia Huts, which he believed was a base for mineral prospecting in the Southern Alps.
The Chinese had built canals all along the Canterbury coast, linking the major rivers. The remains of these canals could be seen just north of the Rakaia River mouth and in many other places.
He also believed the Chinese had built a series of weirs on several South Island rivers, including the Ashburton, Rakaia and Selwyn rivers, to make them navigable by junks, which they used to sail upstream to prospect for gold and other minerals.
Mr Bell said he had first visited Wakanui Beach in February this year ¡°to do some fossicking¡± and had taken material from the outline of what he believed was the remains of a junk. The material had proved to be burned timber. It had been carbon-dated by scientists at Waikato University to the period around 1422.
He returned to the beach yesterday to do more investigation into the ship¡¯s remains.
¡°I believe the junk was on fire, due to the meteorite, and was swept ashore by the tsunami,¡± he said.
The tsunami had actually created the cliffs at Wakanui and further along the Mid Canterbury coast, he added.
¡°The coast was probably just low sandhills before that,¡± he said.
Mr Bell said his interest in Chinese settlement in New Zealand had been sparked by Gavin Menzies¡¯ controversial book, ¡°1421 ¨C the Year China Discovered the World¡±.
The book¡¯s hypothesis is that during the Ming Dynasty, in 1421, four Chinese fleets containing a total of about 1000 ships set sail to colonise the world.
The Chinese had already settled as far afield as Peru, from where they brought sweet potato and many other plants to New Zealand well before the arrival of the Maori.
Among the more startling claims in the book is that Maori are descended partially from the Chinese.
Mr Bell said he had found about 30 Chinese settlements around New Zealand and believed there were probably as many as 300.
At Moeraki in North Otago he had found what he believed were Chinese cannon balls, made of stone, up to 300mm in diameter. The cannon balls were also apparently from junks wrecked in the tsunami, he said.
The claim is part of controversial research by Cedric Bell, a retired engineer who has spent the past year gathering what he believes is proof of an ancient Chinese civilisation in New Zealand, which pre-dated Maori by several centuries.
Mr Bell told the Ashburton Guardian there was evidence that a huge tsunami had hit the coast of New Zealand about 1422. The tsunami had been caused by a meteorite, which was believed to have landed in the sea south of Stewart Island.
What he believes to be the remains of an upturned Chinese junk is clearly outlined in cliffs at Wakanui Beach, about 300 metres south of the car park.
Mr Bell said there was growing evidence the Chinese had settled in New Zealand up to 2000 years ago.
They had built several sophisticated settlements in the South Island, including a fortified city at Rakaia Huts, which he believed was a base for mineral prospecting in the Southern Alps.
The Chinese had built canals all along the Canterbury coast, linking the major rivers. The remains of these canals could be seen just north of the Rakaia River mouth and in many other places.
He also believed the Chinese had built a series of weirs on several South Island rivers, including the Ashburton, Rakaia and Selwyn rivers, to make them navigable by junks, which they used to sail upstream to prospect for gold and other minerals.
Mr Bell said he had first visited Wakanui Beach in February this year ¡°to do some fossicking¡± and had taken material from the outline of what he believed was the remains of a junk. The material had proved to be burned timber. It had been carbon-dated by scientists at Waikato University to the period around 1422.
He returned to the beach yesterday to do more investigation into the ship¡¯s remains.
¡°I believe the junk was on fire, due to the meteorite, and was swept ashore by the tsunami,¡± he said.
The tsunami had actually created the cliffs at Wakanui and further along the Mid Canterbury coast, he added.
¡°The coast was probably just low sandhills before that,¡± he said.
Mr Bell said his interest in Chinese settlement in New Zealand had been sparked by Gavin Menzies¡¯ controversial book, ¡°1421 ¨C the Year China Discovered the World¡±.
The book¡¯s hypothesis is that during the Ming Dynasty, in 1421, four Chinese fleets containing a total of about 1000 ships set sail to colonise the world.
The Chinese had already settled as far afield as Peru, from where they brought sweet potato and many other plants to New Zealand well before the arrival of the Maori.
Among the more startling claims in the book is that Maori are descended partially from the Chinese.
Mr Bell said he had found about 30 Chinese settlements around New Zealand and believed there were probably as many as 300.
At Moeraki in North Otago he had found what he believed were Chinese cannon balls, made of stone, up to 300mm in diameter. The cannon balls were also apparently from junks wrecked in the tsunami, he said.