Tomb of the Lost (88 page)

“
How many?
”
he asked, his throat feeling suddenly dry.

“
Dozens.
”

Hutchinson took his headset off so his voice couldn
’
t be heard.

“
Captain my team has never dealt with munitions before.
”

Ali spoke directly to Natalie, not wishing to waste any time.

“
Natalie I need you and your team to be extremely careful while we ascertain the danger. Now don
’
t be alarmed. If the shells falling out of their crate didn
’
t set them off they might be stable. Remember the earthquake and a torpedo sixty years ago didn
’
t trigger them but we must be very cautious. Ok.
”

Natalie had by now taken a few deep breaths.

“
Yes.
”

“
Good. Now I need to know their condition. Do they look like they
’
re corroded?
”

“
Very.
”

“
I knew they would be. The next question is are they unstable?
”

“
I don
’
t know. How can I tell?
”

“
You can
’
t. How many crates of them would you say there are?
”

“
A few. It
’
s an absolute mess down here.
”

Ali moved his microphone away from his mouth.

“
I
’
m going to need someone to get one of these shells to the surface,
”
he said to Hutchinson.

“
What are the risks?
”
Dennis cut in.

“
That
’
s what I
’
m trying to ascertain Mr Dennis.
”

“
Can they not just work around them?
”
the journalist asked.

“
No the risk needs to be assessed. If that ammunition is unstable and something or someone causes it to explode it could bring the whole wreck down upon them. We could lose everything. The ship, the team, the sarcophagus.
”

“
Which if I may remind you we haven
’
t located yet,
”
Dennis said.

“
It
’
s there,
”
Jim Hutchinson replied,
”
It has to be.
”

“
Which of your team can get a shell to the surface for me?
”
Ali asked.

Hutchinson knew he had no choice.

“
Let Natalie decide.
”

Fifteen minutes later a small orange flotation bag broke the surface. The dinghy waiting nearby raced over to it. The divers positioned in a group around the shell waited for it to be pulled aboard the small boat. They waited for the dinghy, which took the shell to the
’
Volante
’
to return for them. By the time Natalie, George and the others were on deck Ali
’
s team were at work on the corroded shell. It was ten minutes before a member of his team looked up and said.

“
It
’
s safe.
”

A sigh of relief went around the deck.

“
Good,
”
Ali said,
“
We can begin bringing the others up. Get our R.O.V. rescued and find what we
’
re looking for.
”

Back in the water the dive team got to clearing the artillery shells. Soon dozens of orange bags were dotted on the surface of the sea. The shells were rounded up by the dinghy, whose crew worked frantically. The shells were taken aboard and were being placed in crates, laid carefully between layers of wood shavings. By the afternoon the R.O.V. was free. Now they began their search for the sarcophagus.

Natalie swam ahead of the group and entered the hold. The other divers right behind. The whirring R.O.V.
’
s came last. Natalie checked her position. She could see the great gaping wound at the ship
’
s stern.

“
This is it,
”
she said,
”
We
’
re back.
”

“
Can you see it?
”
Hutchinson asked excitedly.

“
No. Not yet. We need the submersibles.
”

Hutchinson looked at the large flat screen monitors. The images from the R.O.V.
’
s were grainy from the silt in the water.

“
This is exactly where I was when I thought I saw it seconds before the earthquake hit.
”

Ali spoke to the R.O.V. operator.

“
Hit the lights.
”

They flashed on brilliantly, dazzling the divers. It took a while for their eyes to adjust to the bright lights. Natalie looked down and let out a gasp of breath into her facemask. Rising up out of the silt was a stone sarcophagus. She swam down gently until her feet were on the floor, careful not to stir up any more silt and debris. She took off her glove and with her heart thumping from the excitement she reached out and touched it. The rest of the group spread themselves around it, hands stroking it. Natalie felt the carvings, made two thousand years ago through her fingertips.

“
Jim,
”
she called,
“
We
’
ve found it.
”

Hutchinson reached out shakily and brought his microphone in close to his mouth.

“
How sure are you?
”

She felt the texture of the stone through her fingertips again.

“
This is definitely it,
”
she said.

There was a roar of applause on the bridge of the
‘
Volante.
’

“
How does it look? What
’
s its condition?
”

“
It looks to be fairly good, what I can see of it. It
’
s empty and the lid is missing.
”

“
Empty?
”

“
Yes. I
’
m afraid so.
”

Then she realised the implications of what she
’
d just said. Hutchinson
’
s dream of finding Alexander
’
s sarcophagus intact was now gone in that one sentence she
’
d just said. The dream of gazing upon the remains of the young King now lay shattered. Hutchinson sank slowly into a chair. Dennis could see the anguish on the American
’
s face.

“
Jim there was no guarantee that his body was still inside after the millenia. I wouldn
’
t imagine the Germans back in 1943 would have opened it before it had arrived in Germany. After all it was Hitler
’
s dream. They would have wanted him to have been the first. There is no guarantee he was still there after the Romans moved him. For all we know Caesar may have used a decoy. I wouldn
’
t put it past them.
”

“
Yes. You
’
re right of course,
”
Hutchinson replied,
“
There was no guarantee. But we still have the sarcophagus.
”

He got up and placed his hand on Ali
’
s shoulder.

“
We now need to get it up.
”

CHAPTER FORTY

The large orange airlift bags bobbed up and down in the calm sea. Small waves causing them to buck and twist. It had been twenty four hours since the sarcophagus of Alexander the great had been discovered by marine archaeologist Natalie Feltham and her team. They had worked around the clock with the crew of the
‘
Volante
’
and now the stone sarcophagus, estimated to weigh at least a ton, was floating six feet below the surface. Its lid still inside the freighter, located by George Roussos, lying by the side of the sarcophagus in eighteen inches of sand and silt.

’
Volante
’
crew members now worked in positioning their ship to be able to use the crane mounted at the stern. The dive teams secured large straps underneath the sarcophagus and as the crane took up the strain they deflated the airbags. Once the dive team were all safely on board everyone watched intensely as the ancient relic was lifted slowly from the sea. Water and slime dripped from it. For a moment it passed in front of the sun causing a giant shadow on the deck of the
’
Volante.
’
Then it was swinging around and down. Willing hands guided it gently down to sit on battens. It bumped them and the straps went slack. The crane hook came down low enough for the straps to be taken off.

Hutchinson ran his hands lovingly over the surface. The interior was still filled with seawater. He dipped his fingertips in the water and swirled them around.

“
We
’
ll need to bail this water out,
”
he told Ali.

The Turkish Captain instructed two of his crew. They dashed off and returned with plastic buckets and began bailing the seawater out.

Hutchinson walked all the way round the sarcophagus, everyone else moving out of his way. Peter Dennis was studying it. It was quite plain, the carvings not particularly very good.

“
I must admit,
”
he said to Natalie,
“
I thought it would be, more
…
.
”

“
Glamorous,
”
she offered.

“
Well yes quite frankly. Alexander the great is one of the most famous men in history. He
’
s up there with people like Julius Caesar, Genghis Khan, Abraham Lincoln, Adolf Hitler. Fame on a global scale. You would think his final resting place would be on a grander scale. You did say you were sure this was it when Jim asked.
”

“
I said I was sure it was the sarcophagus. I didn
’
t say it was Alexander
’
s.
”

Dennis spoke to Hutchinson.

“
Jim what do you think?
”

“
I really don
’
t know. The hieroglyphs don
’
t reveal much. The cartouche
’
s aren
’
t very clear. I
’
m not an Egyptologist so I would have to check on the Alexander cartouche. I don
’
t even know what name he ruled Egypt under.
”

“
I
’
ll go get a laptop,
”
Dennis said.

He sprinted up the stairs for the bridge.

‘
Thank God for Google,
’
he was thinking,
’
What would we do without it.
’

He then remembered that the
’
Volante
’
had an extensive reference library and thought about visiting it but ruled it out almost instantly. It would take too long to find what he needed.

He opened a laptop and pressed the power button. He glanced out of the window. The
’
Wavecrest
’
was broadside half a mile away. For once the enemy ship looked to be quiet.

Dennis typed in username and password when the screen came up. He carried the open computer out of the door and down the stairs.

Three small boats left the
’
Wavecrest
’
from her hidden side and came around and headed towards the
’
Volante.
’

By the time Dennis got back to the others Hutchinson had already worked out some of the hieroglyphs. He was now trying to work out the name on the cartouche. He looked up at Natalie.

“
Nectanebo.
”

“
Nectanebo? The Pharaoh. The first? Second? That
’
s not possible. We know the whereabouts of their tombs.
”