Maritime connections in the Indian Ocean world during the late First Millennium CE: An archaeological study of Phanom-Surin ship in Thailand

This thesis studies the Phanom-Surin ship, an Indian Ocean sewn-plank vessel of the 9th century in Thailand. It aims at insights into the maritime connections in the Indian Ocean World in the late 1st millennium. The results reveal a complexity of multicultural contacts from the analyses of ship structures and ceramics. Southeast Asia played a key role in providing materials for the Phanom- Surin shipbuilding or maintenance, while the ship could have been mastered by Perso-Arab seafarers. Further cultural connections are evidenced in the ceramic assemblage that has both local pottery and foreign wares with Chinese and Pahlavi writings.