CLASSIC DIVE BOOKS

    Maritime archaeology, ancient wrecksites.
    Please note: The books are listed for interest only, and not offered for sale.

    See also Treasure.
    See also author Robert Stenuit.
    See also author Alexander McKee.

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    ..    		 1600 YEARS UNDER THE SEA
    The Quest for a Sunken City.
    Captain Ted Falcon-Barker.
    First published in great Britain in 1960, by Frederick Muller Limited, London.
    Hardcover, dust jacket, 22 pages, mono prints throughout.
    The sunken city is Epidaurus in the Mediterranan Sea. The book tells of the discovery, diving and raising of artifacts. Of interest to those involved in maritime archaeology and ancient European history.
    Far left iop image is British edition.[ps]
    Left image (round photo) is USA. 
    30 CENTURIES UNDER THE SEA
    Frederic Dumas.
    First published in 1972 by Editions France-Empire.
    First published in th USA by Crown Publishers, Inc, New York, in 1976. 
    Hardcover, dustjacket, 218 pages, mono prints. 
    Author worked with Jacques Cousteau, and colaborated with him on The Silent World. 
    This volumes covers ancients wrecks in general, and specifically those of Les Magnons, Antikythera, Port Cros, Mahdia, and the ships Panama, Dramont, and others. 
    [ps]
    4,000 YEARS UNDER THE SEA
    Excursions in Undersea Archaeology
    Philippe Diole. Translated by Gerard Hopkins.
    First published under the title Promenade d'Archeoloogie Sous-Marine by Albin Michel, Paris, 1952.
    First published in this translation 1954.Sidgwick and Jackson Ltd, London. (Image)
    Published by Julian Messner, New York, 1954. Library of Congress 54-6762. 
    Hardcover, no dustjacket on my copy, 320 pages, several mono plates throughout. 
    Covers several ancient sites in th Mediterranean Sea. Of particcular interest to those interested in several ancient sites in the Mediterranean sea!!
    [ps-b,us-no dj]
    A HISTORY OF SEAFARING BASED ON UNDERWATER ARCHAEOLOGY.
    George F.Bass (editor).
    Published 1972 by Thames and Hudson, London. 
    Hardcover, dutjacket, 318 pages, mono and colour photographs, line drawings
    Contributions by Bass, DeVries, Throckmorton, Shw, Marsden, van Doorninck, Christensen, Scandurra, McKee, Peterson, Wheeler and others. A very important  work and one which had encoyraged and educated many a diver and marine archaeologist. 
    [ps]
    ARCHAEOLOGY BENATH THE SEA
    George F. Bass
    ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE BOAT
    Basil Greenhill.
    Wesleyan University Press, Middletown, Conn., USA., 1976. ISBN Number: 0819550027 / 9780819550026
    Hardcover, dustjacket, numerous photos and line drawings, 320pp.
    ARCHAEOLOGY UNDER WATER.
    George F.Bass.
    First published in 1966 by Thames and Hudson, Great Britain. 
    Appears also to have been published in the USA.
    Hardcover, dustjacket, 224 pages, many mono photographs and line drawings.
    Used extensively as an educational txt for maritme archaeology.
    (The copy I have is Volume Forty-Eightr in the Series Ancient Peoples and Places).
    [ps]
    CITIES IN THE SEA
    Nicholas C.Fleming.
    Published 1971 by Doubleday & Co., New York.
    Hardcover, dustjacket, 222 pages, mono photographs and line drawings.
    Some of the lost cities include Appolonia, Plitra, Pharos, Carthage and Tyre.
    [ps-pers.signed]
    DEEP WATER, ANCIENT SHIPS
    The Treasure Vault of the Mediterranean
    Willard Bascom.
    DEEP-WATER ARCHAEOLOGY
    Frederic Dumas, co-author of The Silent World.
    Copyright Fredric Dumas 1962. Printed in Great Britain, Routledge and Kegan Paul, London. 
    Translated from the French by Honor Frost.
    Hardcover, dust jacket, 70 pages, no photographs, drawinings throughout. Covers preliminary classification of sites, wreck excavation, personnel and equipment, prospection. 
    [ps]
    DIVING INTO THE PAST: ARCHAEOLOGY UNDER WATER
    Hanns-Wolf Rackl, translated by Ronald J FLoyd
    Publishert: Charles Scibner's Sons, translation c 1968, from the 1964 original.
    Hardcover, dust jacket, 292 pages. Contents: Gods From the Depths of the Sea, A Phoenix Rises From the Ashes, The Coast of the "Thousand Wrecks" (Italian coast, Ligurian Sea), On the Trail of Odyssseus, Voyages of the Past, A Submarine Journey to the Roman Era, Sunken Cities, Diving Expeditions in Rivers and Lakes and the Baltic Sea, The Return of the Crown Ship, Exploring Ancient Cults and Cultures.
    [ps]
    EXPEDITION WHYDAY
    Barry Clifford.
    Cliff Street Books, New York, 1999. Hardcover, dust jacket, 8vo - over 7" - 9" tall, 312 pages, illustwrations, photos. The story of world's first excavation of a pirate ship and the man who found it.

    BLACK SHIP : THE QUEST TO RECOVER AN ENGLISH PIRATE SHIP AND ITS LOST TREASURE
    Barry Clifford, Paul Perry.
    Headline London UK 2000 Reprinted Trade Paperback . Is this the same as above??
     

    .
    		HISTORY UNDER THE SEA
    A Manual for Underwater Exploration.  Mendel Peterson
    Original softcover edition published in 1965. (Possibly image below)
    Reprinted in clothbound edition 1969. Subtitled A Handbook for Underwater Exploration. 
    Smithsonian Publication 4538, distributed by Random house, Inc, USA and Canada.
    Library of Congress Number 68-9580. 
    Hardcover, dust jacket, 210 pages, 56 mono plates with descriptions of marine artifacts. 
    An important text at the time for the fledgling maritime archaeologist profession by one of the men who pioneered the techniques of maritime archaeology.  He was Chairman of the Department of Armed Forces History at the Smithsonian Institure, an archaeologist, diver and historian. Covers search techniques, site surveying, preservation of items. Not an uncommon book, but of significant historical value as it was obne of the first books on the techniques of maritime archaeology. The biblography is of particular interest.
    [ps -hard-top]
     
    HISTORY UNDER THE SEA
    Underwater Exploration of Shipwrecks.
    Mendel L. Peterson. Acting Head Curator, Department of History. U.S.National Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
    Published by the Smithsonian Institution, Washinton, in 1954. (Publication 4174).
    This small publication of only sixteen pages obviously preceedes the greatly extended work produced by the author a decade later. The booklet is 210 x 165mm, pirnted dark brown on light brown heavy matt paper, with several photographs. A scarce item. [ps]
    ISLAND TREASURE
    Roland Morris. First dition ?. Third impression 1973. 
    Presume hardcover, 232pages, size 6"x9".
    "Lots of illustrations and photos". 
    Concerns the search for the wreck of the Association off Cornwall.
    [ps]
    LOST SHIPS
    The Discovery and Exploration of the Ocean's Sunken Treasures
    Mensun Bound. 
    Simon and Shuster Editions, New York. 1998.
    Hardcover, medioum near-square format, dustjaacket, many mono and colour photographs, 182 pages, no index, no bibliography. 
    The author with the imposing name is a professor of marine archaelogy at Oxfor University, regarded as the leading maritime archaeologists in the UK, with impressive work on Roman galleys and the Mary Rose. In this well illustrated book, he writes of just three subjects: the Mahdia wreck, the Agamemnon of Nelson's time, and the more recent Nazu ship[ Graf Spee, 'one of Hitler's secret weapons'.  All three wrecks represent archaeology sites that Mensun Bound had considerable influence and direction, and as such he covers the history of the vessels and the era that they represent, as well as the hands-on archaeology on each site. I don't see the book becoming a collector's classic, but anyone interested in maritime archaeology would do well to read it.  [ps] 
    MARINE ARCHAEOLOGY
    Developments during sixty years in the Mediterranean.
    Edited by Joan du Plat Taylor. Contributors include Frederic Dumas, Phillipe Tailliez, George Bass, Yves Girault, Guy de Frondeville, Nino Lamboglia, Fernand Benoit, George Karo, Nicolas Fleming et al.
    First published in the USA in 1966 by Thomas Crowell Co, New York. It evolved from a collection of studies called Le Pongeur et l'Archeologue, published in French by the Technical Committee of the Confederation Mondiale des Activites Subaquatiques (CMAS), in collaboration with a group of people which included Coustau, Tailliez, Dumas, and Honor Frost.  Hardcover, dustjacket, 208 pags, mnono prints, line drawings. As the title suggests, this excellent book covers the remarkable work achieved in the Mediterranean. It details the surveys and recovery from some of the most important wrecksites, and the oldest, ever found. It is an important work for the professional (and indeed amateur) maritime archaeologist, as it describes the work done and how it was done. [ps]
    MARITIME ARCHAEOLOGY
    Keith Muckleroy
    MARITIME ARCHEOLOGY IN AUSTRALIA
    Graeme Henderson.
    University of Western Australia Press, Perth, WA. 1986. ISBN 0 85564 241 6.
    Hardcover, dustjacket, 201 pages, mono prints, extensive bibliography, general index, ship index. 
    From the jacket: Several ancient shipwrecks were found on the Australian coastline some 20 years ago and these generated a great deal of interest within the Australian community. Since then Aus- tralians have become keenly aware of the thousands of other shipwrecks in their waters, sites which can be used to illustrate and research aspects of their trade, communications and development as an island continent. Governments at an early stage passed comprehensive protective laws and provided funds for archaeologists to manage and conduct research on the more important sites. The Australian approach to this controversial branch of Archaeology has been highly successful and deserves emulation in other maritime countries. This book, the first on the subject to emanate from this country, provides a comprehensive account of the archaeological resource and an overview of the progress of the field in Australia, with some pointers to future directions.   [ps]
    MEN AGAINST TIME - Salvage Archaeology in the United States
    Robert Silverberg with the following chapters: Archaeological Emergiencies.  Salvage Archaeology Begins. Tennesesee Valley Salvage. The River Basin Surveys. Missouri Basin Archaeology. Salvaging the Indian Mounds. Salvage from Coast to Coast. Salvage in the Southwest.  Highway Salvage Archaeology. Pipeline Salvage Archaeology. Salvage Archaeology Tomorrow.
    Published 1967. Hardcover,  photos, 202 pages.

    Ooops!!! No marine archaeology mentioned. I bought it on spec and although an excellent book, was disappointed that there is no mention of any undersea excavation. 
    However, see below - the author has also written THE STORY OF UNDERWATER ARCHAEOLOGY.
    [ps]
    NAUTICAL ARCHAELOGY
    Bill St.John Wilkes.
    First published 1971 by David & Charles (Publishers) Ltd, UK.
    Hardcober, dustjacket, 294 pages, mono photographs, line drawings. Excellent bibliography.
    Maritime archaeology - where, why and how; preliminary research and peparation, advanced equipment, search techniques, recording fins, photography, dating and identification, conservation, reporting - a valuable text.
    [ps]
    ROMAN GALLEY BENEATH THE SEA.
    Captain Ted Falcon-Barker. 
    First published in 1964 by Brockhampton Press Ltd, UK.
    Hardcover, dustjacket, 122 pages, mono photographs and line drawings.
    The aithor os Australian, apprently, and his first expdition was to uncover the sunken city of Epidauros. This book is an acocunt o a later expedition in search of Roman galleys sunk sixteen hundred yars ago in th Mediterraneam. And it looks as thouhg he hd quit some success. Very well illustrated.
    [ps]
    SHIPS, SHOALS AND AMPHORAS.
    The Story of Underwater Archaeology.
    Suzanne de Borhegyi. Illustrated by Alex Schomburg.Published in USA and Canada in 1961 by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. 
    Hardcover, dustjacket, 168 pages. Drawings and charts, no photographs.
    Covers several arly archaeological projects in vrious parts of the world, including Spanish galleons, and the work of Teddy Tucker in Bermuda. 
    [ps]
    SINKINGS, SALVAGES, AND SHIPWRECKS.
    Robert E. Burgess.
    First published in 1970 by American Heritage Press (subsidiary of McGraw-Hill,Inc), New York.
    Hardcover, dustjacket, 188 pages, mono photographs, maps and drawings.
    Covers a bit of everythiong to do with, well, sinkings, salvges and shipwrecks.. Chaptrs include The Archaeology of Shipwrecks; The Missing Monitor, The Doomed Armada, Treasure Trove, The Saga of Silver Shoals, Famous Marin Disasters, The Mystery of the Deadly Bermuda Triangle. Alexander Selkirk (Robinson Crusoe), and William Phips. I havn't rad the book, but its looks very informativ and interesting. 
    See also author' page Robert Burgess.
    [ps]
    SHIPWRECKS AND ARCHAEOLOGY
    The Unharvested Sea
    Peter Throckmorton.
    SUNKEN HISTORY.
    THE STORY OF UNDERWATER ARCHAEOLOGY
    Robert Silverberg.
    Ebay - description: 
    Tells the human story behind historically significant discoveries-the story of brave men who, in their efforts to retreive Sunken History, contend with menacing sea creatures, troublesome growths that attach themselves to underwater objects, and the pressure of tons of water. 178 pages. 

    [ps]
    TARQUIN'S SHIP - The Etruscan Wreck in Campese Bay
    Alexander McKee.  Souvenir Press, London, 1985. ISBN 0 285 62652 3.
    From the fly: Alexander McKee first saw the wreck that was later to be identified as Etrus- can in 1962, while on a diving holiday on the Italian island of Giglio. It lay at 150 feet below sea level, one among many ships that had foundered off the rocky coast in classical times. Both he and his friend Reg Vallintine who had first seen the wreck the previous year, felt that it deserved investigation, but at that depth and at that time, the problems would a have been almost insuperable. For the next twenty years McKee was immersed in the now famous labour of locating and raising the Tudor warship Mary Rose. It was not until 1982 that he was free to join an expedition to exca- vate the Etruscan ship, although such an undertaking had been much in his mind, particularly as the ship had now attracted the attention of treasure hunters. The Mary Rose project had been hazardous enough; but the depth of the Etruscan ship made diving highly dangerous, and 'the narks' a constant risk. For three successive seasons, in 1982, 1983 and 1984, a small group of people have striven with the elements to bring to the surface evidenc; which, it is hoped, will reveal some of the secrets of the most mysterious civilisation of ancient times. 'Ihis enthralling book, containing all the ingredients of high adventure, recalls what is known of the Etruscan people, both from contemporary histories and from their tombs and cities, and suggests how Ihuch more this long-lost ship could . tell us about a culture that still remains largely an enigma. But most of all it is a personal account of the hazards of diving to great depths, of the exhilaration of discovery and the ravages of looters. It brings to life the incredible beauty of the world beneath the sea, with its rich population of plant and animal life.   [ps]
    THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF SHIPS
    Paul Johnstone. 
    The Bodley Head, London. 1974.
    Hardcover, justjacket, 134 pages, mono prints, index.  From the fly:
    Ships were the largest single movable objects known to early man. To venture onto the open ocean in them was often as daring as going to the moon today-to overcome the unbiddable violence of the sea was a marvellous feat. We can never really appreciate how prehistoric people felt when they made their voyages. But not quite everything has to be left to the imagination. A ship must have sunk, every day, somewhere, somehow, ever since man first took to the sea, and although there are still many gaps in our knowledge, a small number of these ships survive, and tell us better than anything else of the skilful cunning, the experienced dexterity, and the strength their builders used to fight back against the implacable oceans. The first scientific excavation and restora- tion of an ancient vessel was the recovery of the Nydam ship of the 4th century AD from a peat bog in Schleswig. This was soon fol- lowed by the finding of the magnificent Viking ships from Gokstad and Oseberg in Norway. Since the early twentieth century these have provided one of the most vivid of all ways for the general public to experience the past at sea. Now, more excavations on land and the new scope brought about by the Iqualung have greatly multiplied the number of known and sometimes still visible ancient ships. This book is about some of these craft, the men who found them, and what they did about them. 
    THE BRITISH MUSEUM ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF UNDERWATER AND MARITIME ARCHAEOLOGY
    James P. Delgado,(editor)
    British Museum Press London 1997 . Hardcover, dust jacket, 4to - 8 3/8" x 111/4" , 493pp, index, glossary, 120 colour & 235 mono illustrations. Comprehensive reference on the discovery and recovery of the submerged past from sunken cities to ships. 
    THE LOST SHIPS
    An adventure in Undersea Archaeology.
    Peter Throckmorton. 
    Little, Brown & Co, Boston. 1964.
    THE MARY ROSE: THE EXCAVATION AND RAISING OF HENRY VIII'S FLAGSHIP
    Margaret Rule. 
    Conway Maritime Press, 1982.  Hardcover, dustjacket, 224 pages, index, bibliography, references, illustrated with photographs in colour and black-and-white and with diagrams. 
    The raising of the Mary Rose was not achieved until after eleven painstaking years of underwater excavations. The ship is the only known surviving example of shipbuilding of the period. Her sudden and unexpected sinking in 1545 resulted in everything within the hull being trapped
    and preserved. The excavation was able to uncover numerous objects of everyday life aboard ship and a perfect time capsule of Tudor life. This is the story of her life, her loss and her recovery, and makes for a fascinating and thrilling adventure in modern underwater archaeology.
    THE RAISING OF THE VASA
    The Rebirth of a Swedish galleon.
    Roy Saunders.  Oldbourne Book Co. Ltd, London. 1962. 
    Hardcover, dustjacket, 88 pages, mono prints. 
    From the fly:
    On August 10th, 1628, the giant battle galleon Vasa set sail from Stockholm and, within a few minutes, sank. The Vasa was the biggest battleship of the day and the pride of Imperial Sweden. In the centuries that followed many attempts were made to salvage her. But not until 1956, when her exact location was discovered by Anders Franzen of Stockholm, was it possible to bring the skill of modern engineers to the task. Today, the great ship, raised from its resting place on the seabed, is a Swedish national monument. Scientists and craftsmen are engaged in the task of ensuring its preservation. Because of the nature of the water in that part of the sea, the Vasa was brought to the surface intact. The hulk contained perfectly preserved arms and utensils of a vanished age; around it were strewn great quantities of woodcarving - of gods, kings, knights, mermaids, dragons, lions, demons, cherubs; symbolic works of art from a fantastic Baroque period. It contained the centuries - old skeletons of Swedish fighting mariners. The story of the sinking of the Vasa and its reclamation is graphically told by Roy Saunders in this enthralling book.  [ps]
    THE STORY OF THE MARY ROSE
    Ernle Bradford.
    THE STORY OF UNDERWATER ARCHAEOLOGY
    Robert Silverberg.
    Hardcover, dust jacket, 178 pages. 
    Ebay description: Tells the human story behind historically significant discoveries; the story of brave men who, in their efforts to retreive sunken history, contend with menacing sea creatures, troublesome growths that attach themselves to underwater objects, and the pressure of tons of water.
    THE VASA VENTURE
    Lars Widding.
    Published 1962. Hardcover, 100 pages with pictures and illustrations.
    From eBay description: There are about four books about the loss,discovery and
    susequent salvage of the Swedish warship Vasa which sank in Stockholm harbour in 1628 in similar circumstances as the Mary Rose.This ornate warship, pride of the Swedish navy,sank into deep mud, to be preserved for hundreds of years.Though not before she was the scene of an audacious salvage,whereby an open diving bell was used to recover some of the bronze cannons.She was eventually found in the 1950s and hard hat divers tunneled beneath her hull to sling and raise her to the surface to be preserved in her own dock.This book is the scarcest of the four and a very good read. [ps]
    THE WARSHIP VASA
    Anders Franzen
    Norstedt and Bonnier, Stockholm, 1960.
    Profusely illustrated with drawings, maps and historic photographs. Limited edition, only (?) 15,000 copies printed. Fascinating well illustrated account of the Swedish warship Vasa, sunk in a sudden squall just off Stockholm in 1628, and her salvage.  The Warship Vasa was built in the early 17th century when Sweden was a great  power. She was one of the mightiest warships, and, as such, was richly  ornamented. On August, 1628 she sank in Stockholm.  In this volume, Anders Franzen, the originator of the salvage project, presents the historical background of the Vasa, the recovery process and the plans for the future.
    Also:  THE WARSHIP VASA, DEEP DIVING AND MARINE ARCHAEOLOGY IN STOCKHOLM. Anders Franzen.
    Nordiska Uppslagbocker, Sweden, 1961 (2nd.ed, revised)  4to - over 9" - 12" tall. 
    Hardcover, cloth/dust jacket;  84 pages of the exploration of the Vasa. A great many interesting photographs. The story of the rediscovery, salvage and preservation of the Swedish warship Vasa which sank in Stockholm harbour in 1628. 
    THE WRECK OF THE AMSTERDAM
    Peter Marsden
    Hutchinson & Co, London. First publsihed 1974. ISBN 0 09 119850 X. 
    Several other editons, one in 1985, possibly softcover. 
    Hardcover, dustjacket,206 pages, many illustrations.
    This is the interesting story of the history and loss of the Duch East Indiaman Amsterdam beached near Hastings in Sussex, UK, in 1749,which still lies buried-two thirds complete-beneath the sands. Marsden, a professional archaeologist at the museum of London, tells the enthralling story of the efforts to ensure that this "maritime Pompeii", a time capsule of 18th century life, should be recovered.Now work is well under way to conserve both the Amsterdams contents ( not only a rich cargo, but many personal possessions of those onboard) and to reconstruct the ship herself in her native Amsterdam.This may not be a diving story but it is a fascinating read for anyone interested in shipwrecks.  [ps]

    ..    		 UNDER THE MEDITERRANEAN.
    Honor Frost. 
    First published 1963 by Routledge & Kegn Paul Ltd, London. 
    Hardcover, dutjacket, 278 pages, mono and colour photographs and line drawings. 
    The author is a well respected maritime archaeologist, one of the first, irrespective of her gender. This authorative work in seven parts covers her incredible work in the Mediterranean seas, and is therefore part biographical, bt never losing the professionl quality demanded of her work. Most of the major ancient wrecks are wrecksits are covewred in some detail, including sunken cities, and the sponge divers. It is an historical text on the vessel discovered, rather than an archaeology text. Excellent.
    Far left image is British edition. Black cover may be USA.
    [ps]
    UNDERWATER ARCHAEOLOGY
    P.E.Cleator.
    Firt published 1973 by Robert Hale & Co, London/
    Hardcover, dustjacket, 224 pages, mono photographs and line drawings.
    Commencs with a history o diving - 'advent of the aqualung', and then covers some of the major maritime archaeology events and ancient wreck sites. He also speaks of 'the way ahead'. An interesting book with an excellent bibliography.
    [ps]
    UNDERWATER ARCHAEOLOGY; TREASURES BENEATH THE SEA
    Roy Pinney
    Publisher: Hawthorn Books, 1970. 
    Harcover, justjacket, 214 pages, mono photographs. 
    From the jacket blurb:"... stories of some of the most interesting finds, the history of diving, advances in the technology of underwater archaeology, the training of underwater archaeologists, and the dangers facing the divers".
    (Ebay description)
    VASA - THE KING'S SHIP
    Commander Bengt Ohrelius.
    Publisihed 1962.
    Hardcover, dustjacket, 124 pages with photographs and illustrations. 

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