National Geographic_History_May/June 2022

BAPTISTERY OF SAN GIOVANNI

Dedicated to John the Baptist, this
building was consecrated in 1059
and completed in the 1100s. Andrea
Pisano’s bronze doors were added
in the 14th century. A century later,
the design competition for another
set of elaborate doors was won
by Lorenzo Ghiberti. His rival in
the competition was Brunelleschi,
future builder of the dome.

PIETRO CANALI/FOTOTECA 9X12

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC HISTORY 49

SOARING Hagia Sophia, Istanbul
MASTERPIECES
The enormous dome, built in
Through the ages, the engineering of one great the sixth century a.d., rises
dome has influenced that of the next. The over the central nave and
Pantheon’s lightweight honeycomb dome and is supported by four huge
the Hagia Sophia dome, which is supported on pendentives that rest on four
pendentives, have influenced the architecture large pillars.
of very different places and styles. The dome of
Florence’s cathedral mixes elements of both these
designs and innovates with the double-shell and
stone-chain solution, reaching dimensions never
seen before. Not even the dome of St. Peter’s,
which Michelangelo designed about a century
later, was able to match it.

FERNANDO BAPTISTA/NGS

Pantheon, Rome

The rotunda is formed of five
rows of coffers that decrease in
size and is topped with an oculus
almost 30 feet across. It was built
in the second century a.d.

Cathedral of Santa Maria St. Peter’s
del Fiore, Florence Basilica, Rome

The dome of Florence’s landmark Michelangelo, who was
basilica was begun by Filippo capomaestro, began
Brunelleschi in 1420 and finished constructing the dome in
in 1471, when the lantern atop it 1547. His protégé Giacomo
was placed. della Porta finished it in 1590.

Taj Mahal, Agra

This gem of Mughal architecture
was built by Emperor Shah Jahan
in Uttar Pradesh, northern India,

in the mid-17th century. The
dome was designed by Ottoman

architect Ismail Khan.

design,but was it feasible? In 1418,once the base BRUNELLESCHI AND THE EGG
of the dome was finished,the Opera del Duomo
launched a competition to find an architect who Filippo Brunelleschi demonstrating his
would make the dome a reality. project’s viability to the members of
the Opera del Duomo. Oil painting by
Winning the Contest Giuseppe Fattori, 19th century. Palazzo
Pitti, Florence
Known to his friends as “Pippo,” Filippo
Brunelleschi was born in Florence in 1377 and AKG/ALBUM
spent his childhood in the family home opposite
the construction site where the cathedral was Construction Timeline 1150–1170
gradually taking form. Perhaps growing up in Roof and lantern of the
the shadow of the unfinished Santa Maria del FERNANDO BAPTISTA/NGS baptistery is completed
Fiore, and seeing Fioravante’s domed maquette next to the old cathedral
inside, inspired Brunelleschi to puzzle out how ROMANESQUE of Santa Reparata
such an ambitious dome could be built.
GOTHIC
Gaining renown as a goldsmith and sculptor,
in 1401 Brunelleschi entered an architectural
contest to create new doors for Florence’s Bap-
tistery of San Giovanni, the octagonal building
that stands alongside the cathedral. The chal-
lenge: A set of doors even more magnificent
than those designed some 70 years earlier by
Andrea Pisano. On that occasion, Brunelleschi
lost to Lorenzo Ghiberti. Defeated, he moved
to Rome with his friend Donatello, and for the
next 15 years he immersed himself in the study
of ancient Roman architecture. It is said that he
rediscovered the principles of linear perspective
developed by the Greeks and Romans.

Brunelleschi returned to Florence between
1416 and 1417. When the contest for designing
the dome was announced in 1418, Brunelleschi
was already one of the favorites, along with his
great rival Ghiberti. The proposals that were
submitted all had to stick closely to Fioravante’s
design. What the judges were really looking for
was what engineering system the competing
architects could come up with to support the
huge dome while it was under construction.
Some proposals envisaged wooden props sup-
porting the walls of the dome while it was going
up. Another alternative was to fill the transept
with sand to create a mound on which the dome
would rest during construction, a solution the
Opera del Duomo rejected.Brunelleschi,mean-
while, offered a startling and radical proposal:
He claimed that he would build the vast dome
without using any support systems at all.

This idea caused a sensation; no one could
grasp how it would work.Although Brunelleschi
refused to reveal the engineering details,he was

52 MAY/JUNE 2022

1296 1359 1420–1436 1471
Construction of Giotto’s Bell Tower The dome Construction of the
the new cat hedral is completed is built lantern is
begins completed

RENAISSANCE

1377 1402 1418 1446
Brunelleschi is Brunelleschi
born in Florence Brunelleschi Brunelleschi participates in the dies

goes to Rome contest to design the dome

TOP SECRET

Thinking Ahead BRUNELLESCHI made it clear that he would not the Opera required the contestants to reveal
reveal his architectural secrets. Only a few of their techniques to the public, which Brunelleschi
A fresco in the Spanish the capomaestro’s own sketches have survived. refused to do. He argued instead that whichever
Chapel of the Santa The other surviving drawings that give a glimpse contestant managed to stand an egg upright on a
Maria Novella church of his ingenuity were made by collaborators marble table should be granted the commission.
in Florence was painted such as Taccola and Bonaccorso Ghiberti Brunelleschi watched as all the other contestants
in 1355, 65 years before (grandson of Brunelleschi’s rival Lorenzo). These failed. When it was his turn, he rapped the bottom
work on the dome at fellow architects got to see the machines used of the egg sharply onto the table, breaking the
Santa Maria del Fiore during construction and made sketches of the lower shell and leaving the upper part erect as
began. Even so, artist mechanisms in operation. But how exactly they if it were a small dome. When those watching
Andrea di Bonaiuto were devised remains unclear. Brunelleschi was protested that his trick made the challenge easy,
depicts the finished so secretive that he even hid the dome’s design Brunelleschi pointed out that in the same way, if
cathedral, complete details from the Opera del Duomo. A story is told he revealed his design tactics for the dome, they
with dome. that in the course of the 1418 dome competition, would then go ahead and build it without him.

ALAMY/ACI.

CHANGING DESIGNS

In 1587 Francis I, Grand Duke of Tuscany, gave
orders for the cathedral’s original facade to be
stripped, on the grounds that it had become out-
dated. The facade remained bare until 1887, when
it was completely rebuilt in the neo-Gothic style,
following a design by Emilio de Fabris that was
close to Giotto’s original vision for the cathedral.

JUSTIN FOULKES/FOTOTECA 9X12



such a respected architect and had performed so
well on other projects for the wool guild that he
clinched the commission.In 1420 his audacious
design was approved on condition that he share
the plans with his rival Ghiberti.

Sabotage and Success

That same year a memorandum was drawn
up listing the project’s structural principles.
Brunelleschi confirmed the dome would have
a double shell, and he included the dimensions
of the structural rings. He stressed once again
that he would build it without any external sup-
port, but exactly how remained unclear. Today
no documentation survives that explicitly ex-
plains his engineering behind the dome. Much
of what is known comes through observation
and analysis of the finished work.

Early on in the construction of the dome,
the disappointed Ghiberti and his faction used
various stratagems to sabotage Brunelleschi’s
proposal. They accused him of deviating from
Fioravante’s original project and of committing
structural errors in the building work.They even
grew so desperate that they complained that the
dome’s design made the cathedral interior too
dark. None of these controversies succeeded in
holding back the project, though. After the base
of the dome reached the agreed-upon height
in 1426, approval was granted for the work to
continue without any supporting structures.

In 1429 cracks caused by the weight of the
dome were beginning to appear in the cathedral,
but Brunelleschi fixed them with reinforcements
of iron and wood.Slowly,layer by layer,the dome
rose, with no need of any scaffolding. Drawing
on his experience, Brunelleschi designed hoists
to facilitate the work.These involved innovative
uses of cogs and shafts, and they were equipped
with various speeds and a reversible gear. Years
later, Brunelleschi’s devices would be studed and
sketched by another brilliant Renaissance mind,
Leonardo da Vinci.

Brunelleschi had a radical
proposal: He would build
the dome without using any
support systems at all.

56 MAY/JUNE 2022

INTERIOR
DECORATION

Dating to the
16th century, the
polychrome marble
floor of Santa Maria
del Fiore is the work
of the architects
Baccio d’Agnolo and
Francesco da Sangallo.

PIETRO CANALI/FOTOTECA 9X12

Through the 1430s, construction was ham-
pered by cash flow problems, wage cuts, and a
shortage of building materials.But Brunelleschi
struggled on and in 1436 was vindicated. The
magnificent dome was completed successfully,
and Pope Eugenius IV consecrated the cathedral.

Brunelleschi, however, was not given carte
blanche in designing the lantern that would fin-
ish the mighty work. Once again a competition
was held, and once again Brunelleschi’s design
won out over that of his rivals. Drawing on his
brilliance as a sculptor, he carved a model from
chestnut wood, but he died in 1446 before it
could be placed. His design for the lantern was
finally completed and placed over the dome in
1471,topped with a copper sphere—the Palla—
designed by Andrea del Verrocchio.

In the 16th century work continued on the
cathedral, including the spectacular interior
decoration of the dome,a stunning rendering of
the Last Judgment begun by Giorgio Vasari.The
facade of the cathedral was left unfinished and
was dismantled in 1587. Three centuries later, it
was rebuilt in a neo-Gothic design that sought to
revive the stylistic principles originally proposed
by Giotto in the 14th century.

Fifteenth-century Italian architect and
polymath Leon Battista Alberti marveled at
Brunelleschi’s grand achievement:

Whoever would be envious enough to deny
praise to the architect Pippo, seeing such a
structure towering over the skies? It is wide
enough to cast its shadow over all the Tus-
can people, made as it is without any beam
or wooden supports. It is hard to believe that
this was done at this time when nothing of
the kind was ever to be seen in antiquity.

According to historical tradition, Filippo
Brunelleschi was buried under the cathedral.
The tradition, it turned out, was true: In 1972
his tomb was found in the crypt, in the shadow
of his own gravity-defying dome.

ARCHITECTURAL HISTORIAN MANUEL SAGA IS A PHD FELLOW
OF THE POLITECNICO DI TORINO (TURIN), ITALY.

Learn more

Brunelleschi’s Dome: How a Renaissance Genius Reinvented
Architecture. Ross King, Bloomsbury USA, 2013.

58 MAY/JUNE 2022

INTERIOR FRESCOES

Giorgio Vasari was
commissioned by
Cosimo de’ Medici to
decorate the inside
of the dome. The
frescoes, which depict
the Last Judgment,
were completed by
Federico Zuccaro in
1579, after Vasari’s
death.

GUIDO BAVIERA/FOTOTECA 9X12

BREAKFAST Construction 374 feet above Geometry
IN TUSCANY Dates the ground
Brunelleschi’s construction follows the design
On August 7, 1420, laborers, 1471 of Neri di Fioravante, who envisaged a pointed
stonemasons, and other workers dome. The eight arcs that reach from the base
climbed up onto the drum of the yet- of the dome to a point follow the classical
to-be-built dome of Santa Maria del Gothic dimensions of the quinto acuto (pointed
Fiore. Looking out over the Tuscan fifth), in which a line four-fifths the length of the
landscape, they enjoyed a breakfast diameter of the base is used to create the arc.
of bread, melon, and Trebbiano wine The octagonal base, separated by stone ribs
to mark the beginning of construction at its vertices, was not built precisely, and
on the dome itself. there are some irregularities in its radii.

FERNANDO BAPTISTA/NGS Radius of the dome

The design Lantern 14
23
The dome of Santa Maria del Fiore rises 4
on 1 an octagonal drum built in stone and Diameter:
penetrated by a large circular window on 3 Gravity 180 feet
each of its faces. Between the base and
the top, there are 2 four rings or “chains” 1436 Oculus Strong Skeleton
of sandstone reinforced with iron, which Because of the effects of gravity,
together with another series of wooden the base of a dome tends to splay
bands compress the whole and prevent it outward. To reduce this tension,
from splaying out at the bottom. The dome Brunelleschi connected the inner
is crowned 3 by an oculus and 4 a lantern and outer vaults with solid vertical
whose construction was completed in 1471, brick arches. The joints are rein-
35 years after the rest of the dome. forced with horizontal rings.

Hidden Details Tiles Level 4
Several million bricks were used
to build the dome. The terra- Brick
cotta tiles on the roof and the Plaster
interior plastering conceal many
details of the construction, but
experts can tell that the bricks
have different shapes depend-
ing on where they were laid.

1433

Level 3 Stone belt Vertical Sideways thrust
brick arch
Outer cap
Inner cap

1426
1422

Level 2 2 Wooden belt

Level 1 Staircase

1

LOOK! NO PROPS

THE IDEA OF BUILDING the dome without arrangement of bricks that anchored each new
a wooden structure to support it during ring of bricks into the ring below it, preventing
the construction process was an unusual the pieces from falling off in the process. A third
technical challenge in 15th-century Florence. strategy placed the stone blocks and bricks so
Brunelleschi figured that by employing the they were not totally horizontal, but gradually
correct techniques, he could construct a inclined toward the interior of the dome. This
building capable of bearing its own weight strategy, though apparently risky, maximizes the
without collapsing. He used four main strategies surface friction between the different layers of
to achieve this. First, both the inner and outer the construction and prevents the interior pieces
domes are divided into two sections. 1 The from dislodging, because they have nowhere to
lower section of each is built in stone and rises lean. Finally, Brunelleschi’s fourth strategy built
from the drum to approximately 47.5 feet high. interior ribs to connect the inner and outer layers
The upper section is made of brick. Its thickness of the dome, as well as vertical brick and stone
tapers as it rises to reduce the load on the lower arches that form a kind of cagework locking the
rings. The next strategy 2 used a herringbone whole structure together.

Inner
cap

60° Vertical bricks
At the top, the wall reaches a
maximum angle of 60 degrees 2

Vertical bricks are arranged at
an angle to the center

Likely placement Brick Opus Spicatum
of scaffolding
Stone The herringbone brickwork (in Latin, opus
spicatum) is a technique that has been used
1 since ancient times for decorative purposes.
Brunelleschi, however, also exploited
it for a structural purpose. The oblique
herringbone arches of vertically placed
bricks divide the horizontal brick rings into
bookended segments and anchor each ring
to the one beneath. Once a horizontal ring
was finished, new herringbone bricks were
placed for the next layers to tessellate with.

FERNANDO BAPTISTA/NGS

The Lantern

In 1436 the cathedral was finally
consecrated. But there remained the
challenge of designing a lantern to filter light
entering the oculus at the top of the dome.
Brunelleschi won the design competition.
Antonio di Manetto Ciaccheri was put
in charge of the work after Brunelleschi’s
death. The lantern echoes the octagonal
design of the dome itself and its eight
pilasters are aligned with the ribs of the
dome. The drawing to the right is from a
Renaissance Florentine workshop.

BELOW AND RIGHT: SCALA, FLORENCE

SCALA, FLORENCE

Cranes Carga

Brunelleschi created various machines to address
the complex challenges of building the dome
of Florence’s cathedral. These machines were
then used in other civil and military contexts.
The cranes and hoists he designed incorporated
complex animal-draft gears and locking systems
that prevented the huge sandstone blocks from
falling. To construct the lantern, smaller versions
of these machines were required that could be
powered by humans. They carried precision
mechanisms that allowed the large square-cut
stones (ashlars) to be positioned correctly.

FERNANDO BAPTISTA/NGS

PYRAMIDS IN THE JUNGLE

The Great Palace (left) and the Temple of
the Inscriptions stand surrounded by the
mighty Lacandón Jungle in the Mexican
state of Chiapas. The image shows one
section of the remarkable city-state whose
rise began under its greatest leader, the
seventh-century ajaw Pakal the Great.

DANNY LEHMAN/GETTY IMAGES

PALENQUE

MAYA CITY OF THE GODS

As Palenque rose in the seventh century, so too did its elegant
stepped pyramids. Overseen by Pakal the Great, the city’s
distinctive architectural style exalted its Maya gods, whose
actions permeated every aspect of Palenque life.

EDITORS OF NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

NORTH Mayapán Chichén Itzá Itzá or Tikal, the fine detail and elegance of
AMERICA Uxmal Tulum its architecture has stunned visitors since its
seventh-century heyday. The slender walls of
Map its monuments were once coated with a layer
Area of stucco and painted with brilliant reds and
blues. Although these colors have long faded,
SOUTH Palenque’s ornate friezes and stonework en-
AMERICA dured. So too has its rich repository of inscrip-
tions, most notably on the panels in the city’s
Jaina largest stepped pyramid, known as the Temple
of the Inscriptions.
Gulf of Yucatán
Mexico Peninsula As historians sift through Palenque’s vi-
sual treasures and decode the intricacies of its
Comalcalco glyphs, they have learned how the city’s ruling
dynasty, architecture, and faith were all bound
Palenque Calakmul Naranjo together. They reflected the beliefs of the wider
Tikal Maya world while also proclaiming Palenque’s
Piedras Gulf of own distinctive religious traditions and gods.
Negras Yaxchilán Honduras
City Origins
Toniná
“Maya”is a 20th-century term for the civiliza-
Extent of the Quiriguá tion that flourished across southern Mexico’s
Maya civilization Copán Yucatán Peninsula and modern-day Guatemala,
(7th & 8th centuries) Belize, Honduras, and El Salvador. It flourished
Kaminaljuyú during what scholars called its Classic period,
PA C I F I C from a.d. 250 to 900. Maya civilization was
OCEAN hegemonic and consisted of numerous, inde-
pendent power centers unified by common lan-
CLASSIC D eep in the jungle in Mexico’s state guages, calendars, and a system of writing, as
CULTURE of Chiapas stands the ruins of a well as religious rituals and customs. Palenque
From a.d. 250-900, Maya city known today as belonged to this network. Despite these con-
Maya culture thrived Palenque. Surrounded by a thick nections,these cities often were in conflict with
across the Yucatán canopy of cedar and mahogany, each other. Palenque was no exception.
Peninsula (above). some 1,500 individual structures make up the
Although linked by ancient complex,whose center is dominated by The name Palenque comes from a Spanish
language and religion, a palace and ringed by temples. word meaning “stockade.” The name was ini-
Maya cities frequently Although Palenque is relative- tially given by 16th-century Spanish settlers to
clashed.. ly small compared with other a nearby town, which over time became associ-
Maya sites such as Chichén ated with the ruins themselves. Today, some
GRADUAL MAPS/NG MAPS historians believe the people of Palenque may
have known the city as Lakamha, a Maya word
JADE DEATH MASK OF PAKAL THE GREAT,
SEVENTH CENTURY. NATIONAL MUSEUM
OF ANTHROPOLOGY, MEXICO CITY

CLICK ALPS/AWL IMAGES

THE CITY First century b.c.
PAKAL
BUILT The first agricultural
community develops in
Palenque; inhabitants
combine farming with
hunting and fishing.

BOOK IN STONE

Topped with its distinctive
Maya-style roof comb, the
Temple of the Inscriptions was
built in the late seventh century.
Its inscriptions, including the
second longest Maya glyphic
text ever found, provide
historians with a source of rich
information on Palenque.

CEM CANBAY/AGE FOTOSTOCK

Fifth century a.d. Sixth century Seventh century Eighth century

Palenque’s dynasty Instability takes hold. Late Under Pakal the Great, Palenque’s power
of rulers (ajaws) is in the century, incursions Palenque becomes a major begins to wane. It will
established in a.d. 431. by forces from the Maya regional power. The Great be abandoned, and the
The city is still a relatively city of Calakmul devastate Palace and Temple of the jungle will enshroud the
small regional player. Palenque. Inscriptions are built. city.

THE PALENQUE CROSS GROUP

COMPLEX 1TEMPLE OF THE CROSS
2TEMPLE OF THE FOLIATED CROSS
The city was structured around the 3TEMPLE OF THE SUN
palace, a large central building, which 4TEMPLE XIX
was the seat of power of the ruling 5TEMPLE XX
dynasty. Around it stood dynastic
mausoleums and temples dedicated
to the great deities.

ILUSTRATION: TRASANCOS 3D

2 3
1

6 N

11 ±

12
13

NORTHWESTERN ZONE NORTHERN ZONE

6GREAT PALACE [11 T E M P L E X
7TEMPLE OF THE INSCRIPTIONS [12 T E M P L E O F T H E C O U N T
8 TOMB OF THE RED QUEEN (TEMPLE XIII) [13 N O R T H G R O U P
9TEMPLE OF THE SKULL
[10 T E M P L E X I

4
5

7 9
8

10

BUILDERS OF
PALENQUE

SPAIN’SCHARLESIIIcommissioned a
survey of Palenque by Antonio del
Río and artist Ricardo Almendáriz
in 1784. At that time, the Span-
iards could not conceive that indigenous
peoples were capable of creating such
marvels, and del Río misguidedly con-
cluded that the Phoenicians or Romans
“pursued their conquests even to this
country, where they remained long enough
to enable the Indian tribes to imitate their
ideas.” In 1840 American J.L. Stephens and
English artist Frederick Catherwood vis-
ited the site, and they concluded that the
writings in the Temple of the Inscriptions
matched those they had seen at Copán.
Their theory that these and other sites
formed part of an extensive, indigenous
civilization helped pave the way for the
Maya studies of the 20th century and the
decipherment of Maya glyphs.

ROYAL SEAT related to rivers,and reflecting the place’s abun- and drive the agriculture on which the city de-
In 1832 Jean-Frédéric dant sources of water. pended. It was the ajaw’s role to intercede with
Waldeck sketched a the gods to help protect and feed his people.
relief from Palenque Palenque’s first inhabitants likely settled
(above) depicting a the site around the first century b.c. As the Around a.d. 431, Palenque’s ruling dynasty
seated ruler adorned city grew, it prospered enough to later assert was founded by a leader named K’uk’B’alam I.
with jewelry on a its influence over other peoples in the region. Palenque would reach new heights a couple
jaguar throne. Palenque grew wealthy from trade as well as centuries later in the seventh century when its
from tributes collected from subjugated cities. greatest ajaw—Pakal the Great—came to power.
BRIDGEMAN/ACI Known as K’inich Janaab’Pakal (meaning“sun
Like other Maya cities, Palenque face shield”), he became ajaw when only a child,
was ruled by an official known as an and his mother, Lady Sak K’uk’, ruled as regent
ajaw. The position has been compared until he came of age. He held power from 615
to a king, but many scholars liken it until his death in 683 at about 80 years of age.
more to that of a powerful governor During his reign, Pakal transformed Palenque
or lord. The title seems to have been from relative obscurity into a city that rivaled
hereditary with power passing from other great Maya cities such as Tikal.

fathers to sons. Palaces and Temples
The ajaw served as a link between
Pakal’s city was divided into two areas: a cen-
the gods and the people. Glyphic in- tral public area—the Great Plaza, surrounded
scriptions found at Palenque revealed by monuments—and a separate residential
that the people believed the gods con- zone. The sophisticated city had aqueducts,
trolled the weather. The city’s mysteri- public squares, and recreational ball courts.
ous mist and storms could both disrupt Civil power was focused on the Great Palace.
Other structures had stood on the same site
CERAMIC CENSER FEATURING AN EFFIGY OF AN in previous eras, but this soaring structure,
UNKNOWN DIGNITARY, A.D. 600-900. MUSEO
REGIONAL DE CHIAPAS

AKG/ALBUM

STANDING TALL

During his reign as ajaw,
Pakal built the Great
Palace at Palenque. His
son, K’inich Kan B’alam,
added its most distinctive
feature, this four-story
tower, in the early 700s.

W. SKRYPCZAK/ALAMY/ACI

4
2

DEATH AND THE 1952 DISCOVERY by Mexican ar- (above) is made from a single piece
REBIRTH chaeologist Alberto Ruz of Pakal’s of limestone that weighs about seven
burial chamber below the Temple of tons. Decorated with an intricate re-
the Inscriptions revolutionized his- lief, the lid is now considered one of
torians’ understanding of Palenque the great treasures of universal art.
and the Maya. Pakal’s sarcophagus lid There are several interpretations of the

3
1

SARCOPHAGUS LID
FEATURING A RENDERING
OF THE POSSIBLE
COLORS USED WHEN IT
WAS CREATED IN THE
SEVENTH CENTURY
FOR PAKAL’S TOMB.
NATIONAL MUSEUM
OF ANTHROPOLOGY,
MEXICO CITY

ILLUSTRATION: TRASANCOS 3D

scene on the lid, but most scholars falling down the tree into the under- are 4adornments representing the sky
world, while others have posited that
agree that the central figure depicts he is preparing to ascend it. Beneath and celestial objects, as well as Pakal’s
ancestors. Through this impressive lid,
1 Pakal transformed into the god Pakal is the 3 Earth Monster, from Pakal wanted to leave a record of the
prosperity that his dynasty had brought
of maize, fertility, and abundance. which Pakal may be emerging as he to the city.
is reborn. Around the edges of the lid
Behind him is the 2 Maya World

Tree; some scholars believe Pakal is

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC HISTORY 73

THE STEPS LEADING UP dominated by its four-story tower, was built had“thrown down”the principal deities of the
TO THE TEMPLE OF THE in Pakal’s time. city,but Pakal restored the gods,returning them
CROSS CAN BE SEEN IN to their rightful places of worship. Pakal con-
THE FOREGROUND. THE The impressive Temple of the Inscriptions structs a narrative that placed him at the center
GRAND PALACE AND was begun during Pakal’s reign.This remarkable as a savior who restored divine order to the city
ITS TOWER RISE IN THE and its people.
BACKGROUND. stepped pyramid is a classic example of
Maya architecture, featuring nine dis- The deities that Pakal restored were three
DIEGO GRANDI/ALAMY/ACI tinct levels crowned by a temple with an gods closely bound to Palenque’s identity.
iconic Maya roof comb at the top. The Known as the Palenque Triad, scholars have
74 MAY/JUNE 2022 building’s greatest treasures, perhaps, are dubbed them GI, GII, and GIII. Their exact na-
the detailed glyphs and images inscribed on ture is complex, each with multiple functions
its walls. These markings record the history of and often interrelated to other Maya gods wor-
Palenque and its people, providing valuable in- shipped in other cities.
sight into the culture, beliefs, rituals, and the
worldview of Palenque’s residents. Three more structures in Palenque were
One account depicts a destructive invasion erected to strengthen ties with the gods.Pakal’s
carried out before Pakal’s time. The forces of son and heir, K’inich Kan B’alam (which means
Calakmul (Kaan), a Maya city deep in the jungle “shining snake jaguar”) began work on a new
of the Petén basin to the east, attacked the city. ritual landscape south of the palace and temple
The accounts describe the onslaught in dramatic complex built by his father. Known collectively
terms, recounting the widespread destruction as the Cross Group, the complex was built in
that swept through the city. the eighth century. It consists of the Temple
The inscriptions recount how the Calakmul of the Cross, the Temple of the Foliated Cross,
and the Temple of the Sun.The complex’s name
OBSIDIAN AX PERHAPS REPRESENTING AN AJAW. IN PALENQUE SUCH comes from the resemblance of temple motifs
OBJECTS WERE DEPOSITED IN THE FOUNDATIONS OF BUILDINGS OR to a cross.In fact,they are iterations of the Maya
PLACED IN TOMBS. A.D. 600-900. PRIVATE COLLECTION World Tree,a central connecting factor in Maya
cosmology.
AKG/ALBUM
Each of the three temples is connected to a god
in the Palenque triad: The Temple of the Cross
is associated with GI, the Temple of the Foli-
ated Cross with GII, and the Temple of the Sun
with GIII. Of these gods, it is perhaps GII that
is best understood by archaeologists thanks
to inscriptions, images on censors discovered
in the Temple of the Foliated Cross, and reliefs.
His name is Unen K’awiil, the“infant,”associ-
ated with maize and rain. Inscriptions bind the
“infant”GII to the idea of dynastic fertility, and
to the legitimacy of Palenque’s rulers.

Temples and Tombs

The first Europeans to see these ruins gazed on
them in the 1600s. They were amazed by their
beauty; in the subsequent centuries, more visi-
tors traveled to Palenque to observe these build-
ings and record their magnificent artworks.

The first modern archaeological studies be-
gan in the 20th century. The work of Mexican
archaeologist Alberto Ruz was among the most
important.Working in the 1950s,he made a sig-
nificant find in the Temple of the Inscriptions.

COLORS OF PALENQUE
A vivid stucco relief from Temple
XIX at Palenque depicts K’inich
Janaab’ Pakal II (also known as
Upakal K’inich), who ruled the
city in the late eighth century.
Museo de Palenque, Mexico

TRAVELPIX/ALAMY

DIVINE ATTIRE
The elaborate stone

sarcophagus lid
of Pakal the Great

depicts the ruler
adorned in the

garments of a god.

KENNETH GARRETT/NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

QUEEN’S MASK He recorded that a chamber, located at the low- to falter. By 900 Palenque would be empty, be-
A broken malachite est part of the temple,“resembled an abandoned lieved to be part of what scholars call the Maya
mask found in the tomb chapel. Across the walls stucco figures processed collapse,an as yet unexplained abandonment of
of the “Red Queen” in relief. The floor . . . was almost entirely filled the great urban centers of the empire.Palenque’s
(below) is now believed with a great carved stone slab.”The body under buildings would stand strong as their vivid col-
to have belonged to the slab,covered with a jade death mask wearing ors faded over time.
Pakal’s consort. Museo a penetrating gaze, was identified as Pakal, laid
de Palenque, Mexico Uncovered centuries later,Palenque’s monu-
to rest there after his death in 683. ments continue to proclaim their people’s past
ALAMY/ACI The magnificent sarcophagus lid, in- glory. Archaeologists are continuing to explore
these. In the 1990s a passageway hidden under
scribed with Maya glyphs, and elabo- the stairs of Temple XIII was found to lead to an-
rate imagery centering on a crouched other tomb of a highborn woman,now known as
figure,became the source of widespread the“Red Queen.”She is now believed to be Lady
fascination.Mayanists assert the likely in- Tz’akbu Ajaw, Pakal’s queen consort.
terpretation is that the figure is Pakal posed
before the Maya World Tree. In the tomb, A team of archaeologists, led by Arnoldo Gon-
his body was surrounded by jade objects, zalez, in 2016 announced the discovery of a water
whose green color symbolizes maize and tunnel under the Temple of the Inscriptions and
water, the materials on which Maya civili- Pakal’s tomb. They believe the tomb and pyra-
zation rested. Some of the tomb’s objects mid were deliberately placed on top of a spring
were dusted with cinnabar, an ore of so that the water would provide Pakal’s spirit a
way to travel to the underworld.
oxidized mercury, whose red color
represents blood, life, and the af- Learn more
terlife.
Stability continued into the reign of Palenque: Eternal City of the Maya
Pakal’s grandson and beyond,but by the mid- David Stuart and George Stuart, Thames & Hudson, 2008.
800s,Palenque’s influence in the region started

TEMPLE OF THE CROSS,
IMAGINED WITH ITS ORIGINAL
BRIGHT PAINT

ILLUSTRATION: TRASANCOS 3D

TEMPLES OF FLY HIGH

SEA, EARTH, Found on a tomb
altar, this clay figure
AND SKY may represent
a high official of
THE TEMPLES of Palenque’s so-called Cross Palenque or its ajaw.
Group each represent a different tier of the It wears a helmet
Maya cosmos and one of the city’s three ma- in the likeness of
jor deities. The Temple of the Cross (above) a bird. Powerful
is sacred to the triad member known as GI figures in Palenque
and to the realm of ocean. The Temple of were known to
the Foliated Cross was dedicated to GII, impersonate birds,
known as Unen K’awiil, associated with the perhaps to associate
earthly realm of rain, crops, and the rulers of themselves with the
Palenque. As its name suggests, the Temple gods of the sky.
of the Sun was linked with the heavens, and
its GIII god is associated with the Sun Jaguar BRIDGEMAN/ACI
deity, and war.

UP THE HILL

Looking over the lush expanses
of Palenque, the Great Palace
is distinguished by its sturdy
watchtower (left). The Temple
of the Cross (upper right) sits
at the top of a long flight of
steps. Its builders used the hilly
terrain to give the structure a
natural sense of height.

MACDUFF EVERTON/NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC



Cut from a sheer cliff face around 2,000 years ago,
30 caves in India are home to sacred spaces
adorned with awe-inspiring works of
ancient Buddhist art.

EDITORS OF NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

CARVED IN TIME

The Buddhist cave temples near
Ajanta in India were cut out of the
cliffs above the Waghora River
between the second century b.c.
and sixth century a.d. Filled with
Buddhist-themed paintings and
reliefs, they have been a UNESCO
World Heritage site since 1983.

ALBUM/ROBERT HARDING/ALEX ROBINSON

ELEPHANT A long a horseshoe-shaped cliff sculptures,shrines (stupas),monasteries,prayer
ENTRYWAY above the Waghora River in cen- halls, and inscriptions created over centuries
tral India, a cadre of British soldiers exemplify masterpieces of early Buddhist art
Carved circa the late set out in 1819 hoping to bag a ti- and the creative achievements of classical India
fifth century a.d., ger.Their hunting party stumbled under the influential Gupta dynasty. And yet,
a pair of carefully upon something surprising: a network of man- surprisingly, only a few local residents knew of
carved stone made caves ingeniously and dramatically cut into their majestic splendor.
elephants (above) the rock. The beauty of the stonework was just
flank an entrance to a hint to what awaited inside those stone halls. Geologic Origins
Ajanta Cave 16.
The interiors of the caves, home to bats and About 66 million years ago,a hundred thousand
LEONID ANDRONOV/ALAMY familiar to local tribes but otherwise unknown or more years before the so-called Chicxulub
to the rest of the world for roughly 14 centuries, impact (the asteroid collision credited with the
revealed a singularly astonishing collection of extinction of the dinosaurs), one of the larg-
religious art. The immense murals, rock-cut est volcanic eruptions in history began flooding

CARVED 2nd century b.c. a.d. 320 5th century a.d. 1819
IN
STONE The first Buddhist The Gupta dynasty is A second wave of The Western world
temples are excavated founded and will rule for construction begins at learns of the Ajanta
at Ajanta during the more than 200 years, a Ajanta but will end when Caves’ existence, and
rule of the Satavahana “golden age” in India’s Gupta power declines in outside study of the
dynasty. history. the sixth century. site begins.

82 MAY/JUNE 2022

DIVINE VISIONS
Buddhas and bodhisattvas
adorn the ceiling of Cave 10,
one of the oldest at Ajanta.
The cave dates to the first
century b.c., but much of its
artwork was created centuries
later in the a.d. 400s.

MAURICE JOSEPH/ALAMY

Sumtsek temple Select spiritual site India’s
(Alchi) Gupta Empire Golden Age
Vakataka Empire
H CHINA India (present-day boundary) AJANTA’S FIRST CAVES were excavated
around the second and first centuries b.c.,
PA K I S TA N I AYA but the majority of these marvelous
temples were built during a golden age
New Delhi M L BHUTAN in India when the arts and sciences, ar-
A chitecture, and religion all flowered. Two
dynasties played important roles in the
NEPAL creation of the caves: the Gupta dynasty,
which controlled northern, central, and
INDIA BANGLADESH parts of southern India between a.d. 320
and 550; and the Vakataka dynasty in the
Ajanta caves Kolkata western Deccan region. Under the rule of
(Ajanta) (Calcutta) the Vakataka king Harishena during the
late fifth century, an intense period of con-
Badami caves M YA N M A R struction of new temples began at Ajanta.
(Badami) (BURMA) The names of Harishena and his ministers,
as well as the lands under their control,
Mumbai Bay of Bengal can be found throughout the excavated
(Bombay) caves.

Arabian
Sea

Mattancherry Palace Talagirishvara temple NG MAPS 400
(Kochi) (Panamalai) 0 mi 400
Brihadishvara temple
(Thanjavur) 0 km

SRI LANKA

India’s Deccan Plateau with roughly 135,000 who ruled a large swath of central India in the
cubic miles of lava. When the dust settled and mid-fifth century a.d. At one time,several hun-
the lava cooled, the entire region was covered in dred monks were living in the caves.
a layer of igneous basalt.
The period of Ajanta as a thriving religious
Many of India’s major dynasties would arise and artistic center appears to coincide with the
on this plateau.Their rock carvings and inscrip- reign of Harishena,who died in 478.By the sev-
tions offer some of the best records of these ear- enth century,the monastery began to empty,the
ly societies. Near the ancient town of Ajanta, caves were abandoned, and Ajanta’s beautiful
roughly 30 caves carved by humans perforate paintings fell into obscurity. Buddhism would
the sweep of a dark basaltic rock face. Their fa- gradually disappear from India, the country of
cades are unexpectedly grand, with paintings, its birth; by the end of the 13th century, its holy
pillars,and statuary reminiscent of the sculpted places were either destroyed or abandoned in the
temples in the ancient city of Petra in Jordan and wake of invasions from Muslim armies.
the frescoes of Pompeii.
Monastic Splendor
The lavishness of the Ajanta complex reflects
its royal patronage. Although some of the cave Most of Ajanta’s caves were designed as prayer
temples date to the second and first centu- halls (chaityas) and living quarters(viharas).They
ries b.c., most of them were carved during the feature central chambers lined with columns
reign of a Vakataka emperor named Harishena, that open into a shrine where a statue of the
Buddha still sits. Along the outer corridors,
Near the ancient town of Ajanta, roughly doorways open to monks’cells, bare except for
30 caves carved by humans perforate the stone beds.
sweep of a dark basaltic rock face.
For the most part, the architectural mood is
solemn, reverential—but the walls are adorned
with something almost otherworldly. The
most elaborate of the caves were designed for

84 MAY/JUNE 2022

SACRED SPACES

India’s Ajanta Caves contain
some of the world’s oldest
and most breathtaking
Buddhist art, including
carved shrines surrounded
by beautiful paintings on
the walls and ceilings.

ROBERT HARDING PICTURE LIBRARY/NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC



LIVING COLORS

Many of the cave walls in
Ajanta were covered with
depictions of the Buddha’s
previous lives. In Cave 1, a well-
preserved painting shows a king
taking a ritual bath after having
renounced worldly possessions
to pursue a spiritual life.

BENOY BEHL/NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

STONE enlightenment, and many of their walls were Padmapani stands as guardian,offering a vision
SLEEPER covered with inspirational paintings. of peace to all who enter.

Sculpted in the late Only fragments of a majority of the murals Statues of bodhisattvas greet visitors to the
fifth or early sixth have survived the centuries. Enough remain to caves, just as they must have welcomed the
century, a reclining summon the sensual and spiritual atmosphere pilgrims, monks, and merchants who passed
Buddha (above) is one that infused these temples. All of known cre- through Ajanta during its heyday. On the walls
of the richly detailed ation appears to have paraded across their walls. are intricately composed murals that tell stories,
sculptures adorning There are images of the Buddha and of bodhi- called Jatakas, from the many past lives of the
Cave 26 in Ajanta. sattvas—other enlightened beings. There are Buddha. Other works depict incidents from the
princes and princesses, merchants, beggars, mu- life of the historical Buddha, Siddhartha Gau-
MAHAUX PHOTOGRAPHY/GETTY sicians,servants,lovers,soldiers,and holy men. tama, an Indian prince who lived a thousand
Elephants, monkeys, buffalo, geese, horses, and years earlier.
even ants join the human throng. Trees bloom,
lotus blossoms open, vines curl and reach. The paintings serve as illustrated classics,
fifth-century style, meant to awaken devotion
One of the most enchanting murals depicts and heighten spiritual awareness through the act
the beatific figure of a bodhisattva who rep- of seeing. For most visitors today, the tales are
resents infinite compassion, Padmapani (also arcane—and yet the sensation of watching the
known as Avalokite´svara) holding a lotus. Ap- images emerge from the dark in all their grace
pearing near the entrance of one of the shrines, and beauty links then and now.

All of known creation appears to have Preservation Efforts
paraded across their walls. There are
images of the Buddha and of bodhisattvas. In modern times, the world has slowly redis-
covered the sublime power of the paintings.
National Geographic photographer Volkmar
Wentzel visited Ajanta and neighboring Ellora
on his 1946-47 journey across India. He wanted

88 MAY/JUNE 2022

COMPASSIONATE
WELCOME

The life-size figure
of Padmapani, the
bodhisattva (one on the
path to enlightenment) of
compassion, has greeted
visitors to Cave 1 of Ajanta
since the fifth century.

BENOY BEHL/NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

LIFE STORIES to photograph the frescoes with the new Ekta- isolated, extraordinary achievement. Recent
chrome color film, but the heat was so intense the studies have made it clear that the splendors of
Throughout the Ajanta emulsion melted. Wentzel eventually had to ship Ajanta emerged from earlier trends, and their in-
Caves are paintings in ice from 100 miles away and used the shadowy fluence spread far and wide.Behl’s photographs
of the Jataka tales, recesses of the cave as his darkroom. and films have documented how the caves’art-
stories of the Buddha’s work fits into broader Hellenic, Hindu, and Bud-
early incarnations in The complex was named a UNESCO World dhist traditions.
human or animal form. Heritage site in 1983,but an ill-advised attempt
In Cave 17, elephants at preservation by two Italian conservationists Developments in sacred imagery fed the ar-
play a prominent role. covered many murals in varnish and then shel- tistic blossoming at Ajanta. This era was when
lac, which distorted the colors. Rajdeo Singh, the figure of the Buddha achieved an idealized,
MAHAUX PHOTOGRAPHY/GETTY the Archaeological Survey of India’s chief of perfected human form. At first, artists had re-
conservation, launched an intensive preserva- lied on symbols—footprints, a tree, an empty
tion campaign in 1999.Indian photographer and throne—to represent the historical Buddha,but
filmmaker Benoy Behl has been documenting followers wanted a more personal focus for their
the caves for decades and is still moved by the devotion. The likeness invented on the Indian
ancient composition: “It shows us the divine subcontinent in the first centuries a.d., with
part of ourselves.” lowered eyes and serene expression,became the

Despite the Ajanta paintings’ethereal beauty, prototype for Buddhist imag-
they were once viewed as a “flash in a pan,” an es that spread across Asia. It
remains the indelible face of
During the artistic blossoming at Ajanta, the Buddha today.
the figure of the Buddha achieved an
idealized, perfected human form. *Portions of this article appear in Lost Cities,
Ancient Tombs, edited by Ann R. Williams.
Copyright © 2021 by National Geographic
Partners. Reprinted by permission of National
Geographic Partners.

90 MAY/JUNE 2022

CONTINUING
WORSHIP
Today, the Ajanta Caves
are one of the most popular
sites in India. The caves’
visions of Buddha draw a
wide variety of visitors, from
tourists to Buddhist monks.

NIKREATES/ALAMY

DISCOVERIES

Time Capsule in
The South China Sea

The 1987 discovery of a 12th-century merchant ship and its cargo
opens a porthole on China as it looked to the sea for its riches.

The British firm The enemy forces to their voyage but sank soon after THE NANHAI NO. 1, with
Maritime Explo- north blocked the Southern leaving port. Eight centuries much of its original cargo
ration was looking Song from the overland Silk later, its discovery provides in situ, is displayed in a
for a Dutch East Trade routes that connected a fascinating snapshot into vast tank at the Maritime
India Company with Central Asia and Eu- the moment when China set Silk Road Museum of
shipwreck in the South Chi- rope. This artery had formed its sights on becoming a Guangdong on Hailing
na Sea in 1987 when it came the basis of the Song’s econ- great naval power. Island, China. The ship
across something more elu- omy for centuries, but their and its goods are kept
sive: an intact merchant ves- new southern location gave Treasures of the Deep partly immersed in sea
sel from the 1100s. With the them access to extensive sea Divers could tell the sunken water and silt to ensure its
Chinese company Guangzhou lanes that ran through the ship must have been in the pALArMeYs/AeCIrvation.
Salvage, the team was trying South China Sea. The South- early stages of its voyage be-
to locate a ship belonging to ern Song turned to ship- cause a huge cargo was still in the silty waters. A lack of
the trading company that had building and pursued their packed in the hold. It was investment and suitable
sunk in the 1700s. Instead, fortunes on the water. decided to name the wreck technology meant the Nan-
in the waters between Hong the Nanhai No. 1 because it hai No. 1 remained on the
Kong and Hailing Island in In the late 12th century, a was the first such ship to be seafloor for two decades.
Guangdong Province, they Song merchant ship laden discovered in the Nanhai, The site was monitored by
found a 100-foot-long junk with goods set out for a the Chinese name for the the Chinese Navy, who kept
dated to the Southern Song South China Sea.
period of the 12th century.
A six-foot-thick layer of
In 1125 the Song dynasty silt had preserved its wood-
lost control of northern Chi- en hull and cargo, including
na. The emperor retreated porcelain, Song-era coins,
south and soon set up a new and bars of silver. The team
capital at Lin’an (today could tell there were a lot
Hangzhou). Known as the more goods aboard the ship,
Southern Song, this state but it would be nearly im-
survived and even flourished. possible to survey the wreck

RAISING 1987 2002 april 2007 december 2007
OF A
WRECK A British-Chinese A plan to use a custom- The Nanhai No. 1 is The Nanhai No. 1 is
salvage operation made metal cage to raise successfully raised to the transferred to the
discovers a 12th-century the ship, now named the
shipwreck and its cargo. Nanhai No. 1, is developed. surface using a 3,000- Maritime Silk Road

ton steel cage. Museum of Guangdong.

92 MAY/JUNE 2022

DISCOVERIES

local fishermen away with Heavy concrete blocks SHIPS OF THE SONG
misinformation of live World were then placed on the top
War II–era bombs in the area. of the box to push its sides THE SOUTHERN SONG DYNASTY (a.d. 1127-1279)
down into the silt and below rapidly developed its merchant navy after being
A plan to raise the Nanhai the bottom of the wreck. pushed out of northern China. It relied mainly on
No. 1 was developed in 2002; Then divers threaded strong junks, ships with a rectangular hull and steered
it was put into action five beams through holes in the by a sternpost rudder. The Nanhai No. 1 follows
years later. Open at the bot- sides of the box, creating a the typical proportions of a junk from this period.
tom, a 3,000-ton custom- bottom to the cage. After the
made steel cage was lowered concrete blocks were re- A REPLICA OF THE NANHAI NO. 1, BUILT IN 2014, ON A VISIT TO MACAO
over the wreckage site. Sen- moved, the massive steel
sors had been placed along cage—with the Nanhai No. 1 MARITIME SILK ROAD MUSEUM OF GUANGDONG
the seafloor so that the box and the surrounding sedi-
could be carefully guided in- ment now contained in- NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC HISTORY 93
to place without damaging side—was slowly raised to
any of the centuries-old the surface.
material below.

DISCOVERIES 3.

1.

2. 4.

STAGES OF THE SALVAGE: 1. The steel cage is lowered around the wreck. 2. Concrete blocks on top push the box down into
the seafloor. 3. The wreck site and surrounding sediment is secured. 4. The box is raised by a semisubmersible boat.

MARITIME SILK ROAD MUSEUM GUANGDONG

In December 2007 the Nanhai No. 1 was placed in a waters in which the wreck thousands of objects from the
Nanhai No. 1 and its precious custom-made saltwater tank. was discovered. In these Nanhai No. 1, including 100
contents (weighing a total of carefully monitored condi- gold artifacts and thousands
15,600 tons) were transferred Much of the cargo has not tions, archaeologists contin- of coins. Most of the 60,000
to the Maritime Silk Road been removed from the ue to study the wreck. to 80,000 objects on the Nan-
Museum of Guangdong on junk’s hold. To prevent dete- hai No. 1, however, are ceram-
Hailing Island, which had rioration, silt and water cov- The Roads of the Sea ics from the Southern Song.
been built specifically to er the craft and its contents, Over the years, archaeologists
house the wreck. There, the and the tank is maintained at have recovered tens of The sea lanes the Southern
the same temperature of the Song relied on are known by
historians as the Maritime
THE WRECK OF THE NANHAI NO. 1 Silk Road. Emerging around
ON THE SEABED BEFORE SALVAGE the same time as the rise of
Rome in the West, the Mar-
MARITIME SILK ROAD MUSEUM GUANGDONG itime Silk Road linked Indo-
nesia and the Spice Islands,
India, the Arab world, and
the Greco-Roman world of
the Mediterranean.

It is likely that the Nanhai
No. 1 set sail from the port

94 MAY/JUNE 2022



DISCOVERIES 4.

Gold, Silver,
and Porcelain

Having just left port when it sank in the 1180s, the
Nanhai No. 1 was carrying a huge cargo—as many as
80,000 items. Many were ceramics, from the most
affordable to some of the most luxurious. Thousands
of Song-era coins were also found in the cargo.

ALL IMAGES: MARITIME SILK ROAD MUSEUM GUANGDONG

2.

1.

5.
3.

1. Black Jian ware bowl 2. Bronze bracelets 3. Chinese bronze 4. Gold necklace 5. Green Lonquan
from the province of recovered soon after coins from the Song recovered soon after celadon ware plate
Fujian the 1987 discovery dynasty the 1987 discovery with a floral motif

of Guangzhou (also known as shown that a Chinese stone- helped fix the timing of the the world stage. By the time
Canton) on the Pearl Delta, ware with brown glaze was voyage. A ceramic jar among of the Nanhai No. 1’s raising
which, along with Quanzhou also in demand in Southeast the cargo goods was found to from the seabed in 2007, Chi-
and Xiamen, was one of Asia. Known as Cizao ware, bear a black-ink inscription na’s global economic impor-
southern China’s key ports. this is also found in the hold. on its underside that links its tance was beyond question.
Not all of the Nanhai No. 1 manufacture to the year 1183,
To historians, the Nanhai goods, however, are consid- placing the trip in or after The Belt and Road Initia-
No. 1 reveals the kinds of ob- ered luxury items. Its white the early 1180s. tive, a massive China-funded
jects carried by 12th-century porcelain from Fujian was scheme launched in 2013 to
fleets. Its huge stock of ce- mass-produced and sold at Past and Future invest in infrastructure in
ramics included black Jian lower prices. In parallel to its historical im- dozens of countries, is a
ware, closely associated with portance, the Nanhai No. 1 has conscious updating of both
the Song period, as well as The cargo also contained been a means for China’s the Silk Road and the Mari-
green Longquan celadon, around 10,000 coins. Many government to project the time Silk Road. To many
noted for its carved lotus and bear symbols linked to the country’s venerable history Chinese people, the Nanhai
other flower motifs. Celadon reign of Xiao Zong, the 11th as a naval and trading power. No. 1 reflects both the glories
items have been found across Song emperor who ruled Its discovery in 1987 occurred of China’s mercantile past as
Southeast Asia, suggesting from the 1160s to the late just as the Cold War was end- well as its ambitious projects
that this is where the Nanhai 1180s and was a strong pro- ing—and as China was be- for the future.
No. 1 was headed. ponent of ocean trade. ginning to play a new role on
—Kexin Zhong
Archaeological finds have A discovery made in 2018

96 MAY/JUNE 2022

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