Crescent Dawn (Dirk Pitt 21)

“Oh, sorry,” the curator replied. “There was a fellow in here a few days ago inquiring about the same exhibit. I thought you might be related.”

He stepped to a large glass case that was filled with dozens of artifacts. Summer noted that most were ceramic containers, along with some deteriorated wood fragments with rusty iron fittings.

“What can you tell us about the ship?” she asked.

“She dates to the first half of the fourth century,” he said, pointing to a corroded silver coin on the lower display shelf. “This Roman denarius found on the wreck depicts Emperor Constantine with laurels, which indicates that the vessel was sunk around 330 A.D.”

“Was she a Roman galley?” Dirk asked.

“There was some speculation to that end when she was first discovered, but most experts believe she was a merchant galley. Wood samples show she was built of Lebanese pine, which would tend to support the hypothesis.” He pointed to an artist’s rendition of a high-prowed galley with twin square sails that hung on the wall.

“The archaeologists believe she was a probably a merchant transporting grain or olive oil.”

Dirk pointed to a sea-ravaged sword hilt that was tucked behind a clay pot.

“She had armament aboard?” he asked.

The curator nodded. “Allegedly, there was much more, but I’m afraid that sword remnant is all that we recovered. The archaeologists were forced to conduct a hurried excavation when it was discovered that the wreck site was being systematically plundered by thieves. I’ve heard stories that a great many weapons were removed from the site before the archaeologists arrived.”

“How do you account for all those weapons on a merchant ship?” Summer asked.

The curator looked blank. “I don’t really know. Perhaps it was part of their cargo. Or perhaps a high-ranking official was traveling aboard.”

“Or there’s another possibility,” Dirk said.

Danellis and Summer looked at him curiously.

“It seems to me,” he said, “that this vessel may have been a pirate ship. It reminds me of the account I read in Caesarea of the captured Cypriot pirate vessel that was found with Roman arms aboard.”

“Yes, that could well be the case,” the curator replied. “Some of the crew’s belongings were quite luxurious for the day,” he added, pointing to a glass plate and stylized ceramic cup.

“Mr. Danellis, are there any other known shipwrecks from that era in Cypriot waters?” Summer asked.

“No. There’s a suspected Bronze Age wreck on the north shore, but this would otherwise be the oldest wreck that I’m aware of. What exactly is your interest?”

“We’re researching a Roman galley sailing on behalf of Constantine that may have been lost in Cypriot waters. It would have sailed at about the same time as the Pissouri shipwreck.”

“I know nothing of that,” he replied, shaking his head. “But you might want to make a visit to the monastery of Stavrovouni.”

Summer gave him a skeptical look. “Why a monastery?”

“Well, aside from its beautiful location,” Danellis replied, “the monastery played host to Constantine’s mother, Helena, when she journeyed back from the Holy Land with the True Cross.”

88

THE AEGEAN EXPLORER CREPT CLOSE TO THE SHORELINE, then abruptly wheeled about and headed out to sea at its same plodding pace. A thin insulated cable stretched taut off its stern, disappearing below the surface. Fifty meters beyond, the cable tugged at a small, cigar-shaped towfish that glided through the water a few feet above the seafloor. A pair of transducers on the towfish sent sound waves bouncing off the bottom, then recorded their timed rate of return. Processors on board the ship converted the sonar signals to a visual image, providing a simulated picture of the floor’s contours.

Seated on the ship’s bridge, Pitt studied a video monitor of the sonar images, watching an undulating, rock-strewn bottom scroll by. Standing nearby, Giordino took a break from staring over Pitt’s shoulders and gazed over at the beachfront with a pair of binoculars.

“Enjoying the scenery?” Gunn asked.

“Could be better,” Giordino replied. “Although it is enhanced by a pair of lovely young ladies seeking refuge from the sun in a sea cave.”

The beach off Pissouri was a narrow strip of sand backed by high cliffs, atop which sat its namesake village. Though popular with the British servicemen stationed at the nearby base of Akrotiri, the beach was still one of the quieter ones along the southern coast.

“It looks like we’ll soon be running out of beachfront real estate,” Giordino noted as the ship slowly worked its way east while conducting the grid survey.

“Then that can only mean that we’re getting close to the wreck,” Pitt replied optimistically.