"Archaeological Mystery"
In 1558 a Spanish galleon headed for the New World with
supplies for the Spanish colonies was damaged in a storm
and sank off the coast of Georgia. Lindsay Chamberlain is an archaeologist from the University
of Georgia. She is called to help excavate the site
believed to be the sunken ship. They are excavating on the
ocean floor inside one of the largest cofferdams ever built
for archeology. A cofferdam is a round structure that
keeps the ocean out of the excavation area. Francisco Lewis ("Lewis") is the new head of the Division
of Anthropology and Archeology at the University of
Georgia. John West is a Native American and friend of
Lindsay Chamberlain. His construction company designed and
built the cofferdam. A diary is discovered that is believed to belong to one of
the passengers that survived to tell of the ship's voyage
and destruction. Harper is translating the diary while the
excavation is ongoing. As they discover skeletons in the
shipwreck, Lindsay uses the translated diary to help
identify each skeleton. She takes the skull and draws what
she believes the person would have looked like. Various accidents as well as 2 murders plague the
archaeology project. Only a few select crewmembers are
aware that they are also searching for a possible 2nd ship
full of
treasure
that was supposed to have sunk in this same area . They
especially have to try to keep this
information from modern-day "pirates" also searching the
waters. There is lots of tension between the archeologists and the
biologists who were on the neighboring island and have been
displaced due to this project. Lewis asks Lindsay to help solve the murders so that the
project won't be jeopardized. I enjoyed this book. I've never read an archeological
mystery before so I learned a lot about archeology along
with enjoying the mystery. I found the characters to be likeable and very real. Many
times I felt as if I was there with them. I look forward to reading additional books in this series.
Reviewed by Dawn Dowdle
Posted August 30, 2002
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