Song Dynasty Ship Lifted From the Sea

This is a really cool story.  We should expect to learn all sorts of interesting history as they dig around this 100 foot ship.  (There is a video if you follow the link.)

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - An 800-year-old merchant ship was raised from the bottom of the South China Sea on Saturday, loaded with artifacts that might confirm the existence of an ancient maritime trade route linking China and the West.

The 30-meter (100-foot) wooden vessel, containing thousands of gold, silver and porcelain trading goods, was hoisted onto a barge in a steel cage as high as a three-storey building, a live broadcast by national television showed.