If you're drawn to shipwrecks and ancient cultures, this book deserves a place on your reading list.
Feature image credit: Simon & Schuster
It seems inevitable that author Mensun Bound would be involved in a seafaring career, having grown up in the Falkland Islands which is a notorious place for shipwrecks. Surrounded by sea, almost at the end of the world, he had a very early introduction to marine archaeology. The renowned archaeologist, and director of the team which found Ernest Shackleton’s Endurance, joined with veteran journalist Mark Frary to uncover the forgotten narratives that lie underwater. Spanning over 5,000 years of history, the book journeys back to 3000 BCE, highlighting remarkable finds including ancient Egyptian artefacts, terracotta figurines from the 6th century BCE, and Greek woodworking tools. Their shared passion for discovery is clear, and it brings energy to their storytelling. The inclusion of maps and photographs adds another wonderful dimension to these wonderful stories of discovery.
What could easily become a dry catalogue of historical items is instead made vibrant and engaging through their enthusiasm and curiosity. Each chapter opens a window into our past, with Bound and Frary carefully reconstructing the stories held within these relics. In the early chapters I especially enjoyed the details of how the ships had been constructed and how that led to the state of the remains, both good and bad. One standout tale involves his years-long search for a diver who had recovered an ancient Greek helmet — one of the few surviving pieces from a looted site. After years of coincidences and persistence, Bound eventually found the diver, who let Bound try the helmet on, creating a rare and moving moment of connection to the ancient past. The diver died shortly after, and the helmet’s current location is unknown.
However, Wonders in the Deep is somewhat patchy. It is arranged in chronological order, and I found many of the earlier ship wrecks and the archaeology around their remains far more interesting than later chapters. The frequent shifts in time and location occasionally left me wanting deeper exploration/explanation of specific finds or eras. In my opinion, several of the later chapters could well have been omitted. Bound is a serious marine archaeologist but the very nature of marine archaeology lends itself to a ‘boys own adventure’ vibe. I was frustrated when Bound decried the activities of ‘treasure hunters’ with little archaeological knowledge, who he said were only interested in relics which might be valuable. The majority off his own finds end up in museums, for which they presumably pay without successfully finding and/or retrieving artefacts, and without this Bound himself would likely be unable to finance his own archaeological expeditions.
Reviewed by Jan Kershaw
The views expressed in this review belong to the author and not Glam Adelaide, its affiliates, or employees.
Distributed by: Simon & Schuster
Released: October 2024
RRP: $49.99
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