Abstract This study concurrently applies multiple cutting‐edge survey techniques, including those based on airborne and shipborne geophysical methods, to investigate buried, potentially archaeological targets in the Taijiang Waters of Taiwan. The Taijiang Waters are archaeologically significant because they served as essential shipping channels in the seventeenth century, when many ships sank in their waters. However, conventional archaeological surveying methods are not applicable due to rapid morphological changes, river currents and poor water visibility. Through integrated analysis of various geophysical data, seven suspected underwater cultural heritage (UCH) targets were identified at burial depths ranging from 0.3 to 5.1 m below the riverbed, with approximate lengths ranging from 1 to 10 m. By comparing the geophysical results with historical records and the regional sedimentation rate of 0.2–0.4 cm/year, inferred from geological dating, our results suggest that the suspected UCH targets are possibly linked to the Dutch East India Company shipwrecks, including the vessels Maarssen , Koudekerke , Valk and Immenhorn , and therefore warrant further archaeological investigation.
Chen et al. (Thu,) studied this question.