When History Meets Technology: Preliminary Survey on the Historical Documents of Underwater Cultural Heritage
Dublin Core
Title
When History Meets Technology: Preliminary Survey on the Historical Documents of Underwater Cultural Heritage
Description
Underwater cultural heritage (UCH) is a newly developed interdisciplinary field in which historical research is
indispensable. According to the UNESCO 2001 Convention on the Protection of UCH, the desk-based study of
historical, archaeological, geological, and environmental data is necessary for the preliminary work of inventory.
Then researchers conjecture sensitive areas after analyzing and integrating the above information. The Taijiang
Inner Sea and Tayouan are important historical sites for the political activities of the Dutch East India Company
and the Siege of Fort Zeelandia in the 17th century. According to preliminary conclusions from the historical
documents, Dutch shipwrecks may have been buried in the shoals and wetlands around the mouths of the
Zengwen to Yanshui River or the land area of Anping District, Tainan City. If there are discoveries, they will be
significant material evidence of Taiwan's history in the Age of Discovery. However, the Taijiang Inner Sea has
undergone 400 years of geographical and environmental changes, including river channel migration, sandbars,
lagoons, land expansion, and urban development. Many of the hydrological regions of the period are gone.
Therefore, planning shipwreck survey strategies that compare historical documents and map data with current
geographical locations is more complex than surveying the sea. This study attempts to collect domestic and
foreign maps of the Taijiang Inner Sea and Tayouan area and collect documents related to Dutch East Indies
shipwrecks. After inductive analysis, a geographic information system program overlays the maps and data.
Authors estimate the possible location range of sunken ships as a reference for UCH survey planning and target
object comparison. Finally, integrate the suspected targets discovered by the scientific instrument survey to
examine the relationship between historical documents and scientific survey data.
indispensable. According to the UNESCO 2001 Convention on the Protection of UCH, the desk-based study of
historical, archaeological, geological, and environmental data is necessary for the preliminary work of inventory.
Then researchers conjecture sensitive areas after analyzing and integrating the above information. The Taijiang
Inner Sea and Tayouan are important historical sites for the political activities of the Dutch East India Company
and the Siege of Fort Zeelandia in the 17th century. According to preliminary conclusions from the historical
documents, Dutch shipwrecks may have been buried in the shoals and wetlands around the mouths of the
Zengwen to Yanshui River or the land area of Anping District, Tainan City. If there are discoveries, they will be
significant material evidence of Taiwan's history in the Age of Discovery. However, the Taijiang Inner Sea has
undergone 400 years of geographical and environmental changes, including river channel migration, sandbars,
lagoons, land expansion, and urban development. Many of the hydrological regions of the period are gone.
Therefore, planning shipwreck survey strategies that compare historical documents and map data with current
geographical locations is more complex than surveying the sea. This study attempts to collect domestic and
foreign maps of the Taijiang Inner Sea and Tayouan area and collect documents related to Dutch East Indies
shipwrecks. After inductive analysis, a geographic information system program overlays the maps and data.
Authors estimate the possible location range of sunken ships as a reference for UCH survey planning and target
object comparison. Finally, integrate the suspected targets discovered by the scientific instrument survey to
examine the relationship between historical documents and scientific survey data.
Creator
Chiung-Hui Fu
Yu-Chuan Tseng
Shao-Jung Chung
Publisher
The Museum of Underwater Archaeology
Date
2023
Language
English
Bibliographic Citation
Fu, Chiung-Hui. 2023. “When History Meets Technology: Preliminary Survey on the Historical Documents of Underwater Cultural Heritage.” Edited by Jennifer Craig, Jay Mok, T. Kurt Knoerl, Akifumi Iwabuchi, and Kotaro Yamafune. In Proceedings of Fifth Asia Pacific Regional Conference on Underwater Cultural Heritage: Gwangju, The Republic of Korea, November 13-18 2023. The Museum of Underwater Archaeology. URL: https://apconf.omeka.net/exhibits/show/apconfproceedings/item/1889
Files
Citation
Chiung-Hui Fu, Yu-Chuan Tseng , and Shao-Jung Chung, “When History Meets Technology: Preliminary Survey on the Historical Documents of Underwater Cultural Heritage,” Asia Pacific Regional Conference on Underwater Cultural Heritage Proceedings, accessed September 16, 2026, https://apconf.omeka.net/items/show/1889.