No. 237 Maritime Archaeology in the People's Republic of China ...

Figure 12.
Figure 13.
A detail from the Song Dynasty scroll showing a vessel negotiating a bridge, with detail of the bow arrangement..
Four vessels from the Song Dynasty scroll showing the stern arrangement.
illustrations of vessels may be of Indian rather than Chinese,
particularly because of their Buddhist origins.
The carving on the Bayon temple at Angkor Thom,
Cambodia, dated to 1185 shows, among other vessels, a large
two-masted ship with forestays, mat and batten sails, multiple
sheets and no mast shrouds (Fig. 9). The vessel is thought
to be Chinese since it has many characteristics typical of a
Chinese ship, and is relatively untypical within the illustration
where other, obvious Southeast Asian vessels appear. There
appears to be two flag poles with forestays: a jack staff (at
the bow) and an ensign staff or at the stern. The jack staff flag
has multiple points (typically Chinese). At the top of the fore
and main masts there seems to be a small square mat sail (?),
flag or crows-nest. The ensign flag pole has a mattting flag. At
the bow a sailor is operating the anchor windlass and lifting
a crown stocked anchor. Sitting on the deck in pairs are six
people apparently not engaged in any nautical activity (possibly
merchants). Aft of them are two sailors working the fore and
main sheets. Aft again are three people standing apparently
looking forward and involved in the activity of sailing. The
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