Shipwreck Databases Western Australian Museum

The Excavation of the Ko Kradat Wrecksite Thailand 1979-1980

Author/s J.N. Green, R. Harper, and S. Prishanchittara

Year of publication 1980

Report Number: 17

In 1979, one of the authors, (Green) was invited to Thailand to conduct a maritime archaeology training course as part of the South-east Asian Ministers of EducatIon Organization (SEAMO) Project in Archaeology and Fine Arts (SPAFA). The course lasted for three weeks, the first week being formal lectures at Silpakorn University, Bangkok. The subsequent two weeks involved a field excavation. The site selected for excavation was tne s hallow water site (circ.2m) off the island of Ko Kradat. This site had been discovered in 1977 by a Thai-Danish Expedition, which explored a number of wrecksites off the Thai coast (Howitz, 1977).

During the 1979 expedition, part of the site was excavated . As the finds were extremely i nteresting and encouraging, a second and slightly more ambitious expedition to excavate the whole site was planned for 1980. This work, together with the archaeological finds of both seasons, is the subject of this report. It should be noted that the spe lling of Thai words is extremely flexible. As far as possible the common usage of Sawankhalok has been retained, however, we have chosen Ko instead of Koh as it is used on the Thai Admiralty Charts.

The island of Ko Kradat. This site had been discovered in 1977 by a Thai-Danish Expedition, which explored a number of wrecksites off the Thai coast, (Howitz, 1977). During the 1979 expedition, part of the s ite was excavated. As the finds were extremely interesting and encouraging , a second and slightly more ambitious expedition to excavate the whole site was planned for 1980. This work, together with the archaeological finds of both seasons, is the subject of this report.

It should be noted that the spelling of Thai words is extremely flexible . As far as possible the common usage of Sawankhalok has been retained, however, we have chosen Ko instead of Koh as it is used on the Thai Admiralty Charts.