It's been four years since the discovery of the merchant ship "Nan'ao One". Some new relics have just been recovered in the year's second salvage operation in the South China Sea.

Some new relics have just been recovered in the year's second salvage operation in the South China Sea.

On the excavation ship, archeologists used radar, ultra violet radiation and sonar to locate the relics.

On Wednesday morning, crew members made two dives in an attempt to retrieve more relics from the two cabins on the southern part of the ship.

And they were not disappointed. The majority of what they found were different kinds of blue and white porcelain, in wonderful shape.

A more important discovery was a bronze cannon, which made clear the identity of the ship.

Wu Chunming, professor of Xiamen Univ., said, "The cannon means that the ship was armed. And we can draw the conclusion that this is an authorized merchant ship, not one for smuggling."

Some organic stuff has been found in excavated porcelain jars. And archeologists judge from the shapes that they are remnants of ancient food, most likely fruits or potatoes. But the result is yet to be confirmed with further scientific analysis.

Song Wei, member of Nan'ao One Archaeological Team, said, "We will carry out DNA tests on the organic stuff in order to tell for sure what it is. Later, except that a small part will be used in scientific research, most of it will go on display for public exhibition."

The ancient Chinese merchant ship is believed to be the oldest ship from the late Ming Dynasty era ever discovered. The sunken ship has been lying on the 27-meter-deep seabed for over four hundred years.

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