Treasure of Khan

"Mariana Explorer to Brown Bess," crackled a handheld radio strung to the side rail. Dirk's voice was instantly recognized on the other end.

"Bess here. Come on back," Dahlgren replied.

"Jack, we've got the fuel and hot dogs and are ten miles away. The captain says we'll tie up on your leeward side to offload the fuel."

"We'll be waiting." Dahlgren peered across the horizon, spotting a turquoise dot cruising toward the barge. Then the radio crackled once more.

"And tell Summer that she has yet another visitor who would like to talk to her about the wreck.

Explorer out."

"Not another reporter," Summer cursed, rolling her eyes in disgust.

"Summer says she'll be happy as a clam to host another interview. Bess out," Dahlgren replied into the microphone, laughing at Summer's taciturn look.

The NUMA vessel arrived within the hour and tied up alongside the barge. While Dahlgren oversaw the loading of a fifty-five-gallon drum of gasoline, Summer climbed aboard the Mariana Explorer and made her way to the wardroom. There she found Dirk having coffee with a dark-ski

"Summer, come meet Dr. Alfred Tong," Dirk said, waving her over.

Tong stood up and bowed, then shook Summer's outstretched hand.

"A pleasure to meet you, Miss Pitt," he said, looking up into the gray eyes of the taller woman. He had a powerful grip, she noted, and skin like her own that had seen much of the sun. She tried hard not to stare at a prominent scar that ran down his left cheek, instead gazing at his intense walnut-colored eyes and jet-black hair.

"Thank goodness," Summer blushed. "I was expecting another TV reporter."

"Dr. Tong is a conservator with the National Museum of Malaysia," Dirk explained.

"Yes," Tong said and nodded, then continued in choppy English. "I was attending a seminar at the University of Hawaii when I heard of your discovery. An associate at the university put me in touch with a local NUMA representative. Your captain and brother were kind enough to invite me out for the day."

"The logistics were well timed," Dirk explained. "The Mariana Explorer happened to be in Hilo picking up fuel and supplies for the barge and will be returning that direction this evening."

"What is your interest in the wreck?" Summer asked.

"We have a sizeable collection of Southeast Asian artifacts in the museum, as well as an extensive exhibit from a fourteenth-century Chinese vessel excavated from the Straits of Malacca. Though it is not my specific area of expertise, I have some knowledge of Yuan and Ming dynasty pottery. I am interested in what you have retrieved, and thought I might offer assistance in identifying the age of the vessel through its artifacts. I, like many others, would revel in the discovery of a thirteenth-century Chinese royal vessel in the western Pacific."

"Identifying the age of the vessel is a key question," Summer replied. "I'm afraid we've uncovered just a limited number of ceramic artifacts. We sent a sampling to the University of California for analysis, but I'd be happy to let you examine the remaining items."

"Perhaps the context of the artifact finds will be useful. Can you share with me the condition and configuration of the wreck?"

Dirk unrolled a large script of paper sitting on the table. "I was just going to walk you through the excavation profile before Summer walked in."

They all took a seat at the table and examined the chart. It was a computer-aided diagram of the wreck site from an overhead view. Sections of timbers and scattered artifacts were displayed in a horseshoe-shaped region next to the lava bed. Tong was surprised by the tiny amount of remains and artifacts documented in the drawing, hardly indicative of a large sailing vessel.

"We've worked with the archaeologists from the University of Hawaii to excavate nearly all of the accessible portions of the wreck. Unfortunately, we are only seeing about ten percent of the entire vessel," Dirk said.

"The rest is under coral?" Tong asked.

"No, the wreck actually lies perpendicular to two reefs under a sandbar, with her nose to the shore,"

Summer said. She pointed to the diagram, which showed two coral mounds on either side of the excavation field. "The sand has protected the existing artifacts from consumption by the coral. We think this section of sand may have been a natural cha

"If the coral has not imprisoned the wreck, then why are there not more remains visible?"

"In a word, lava." Summer pointed to the closed end of the horseshoe, which showed a rocky bed that ran off the chart in the direction of the shoreline. "If you look out the window, you can see that this section of coastline is one big lava field. The rest of the wreck, I'm sorry to say, is buried under a bed of lava rock."

"Remarkable," Tong said with a cocked brow. "So the rest of the wreck and its cargo is intact under the lava?"

"The rest of the ship is either under the lava or was consumed by it. If the ship sank and was buried under sand before the lava flow arrived, then it may well be preserved intact beneath the lava field. The timbers we've found adjacent to the lava field are well buried, which suggests that the rest of the ship may indeed still be there."

"The upside is that we may be able to use the lava to help age the wreck," Dirk said. "We have a local vulcanologist studying the historical record of volcanic eruptions and associated lava flows on this part of the island. So far, we know that there has been no volcanic activity in this immediate area for at least two hundred years, and possibly much longer. We hope to receive more definitive information in a few days."

"And what of the actual ship have you identified?"

"Just a few pieces, which appear to be from the stern section. The timbers are thick, indicating a potentially large ship, perhaps even two hundred feet or more. Then there is the anchor stone, which is consistent with known Chinese design, and also indicative of a sizeable vessel."

"A vessel that size and age would most certainly be Chinese," Tong said.

"Yes," Dirk replied, "the European vessels of the day were half as large. I've read of the legend of the Chinese admiral Zheng He, who purportedly sailed around the world with his massive Treasure Fleet in 1405. This is no six-masted, five-hundred-foot behemoth, though, like Zheng He supposedly sailed, if such massive ships even existed."

"History tends to exaggerate," Tong said. "But crossing half the Pacific a hundred years before Zheng He's purported voyage would be an astounding accomplishment."

"The ceramic artifacts recovered present the most intriguing evidence that the wreck is that old," Summer said. "We've found comparable design patterns in our research which suggest the ship may date to the thirteenth or fourteenth centuries. Perhaps you can confirm our assessment with an examination of the ceramics?"

"I am most interested to see what you have recovered."

Summer led them down a flight of stairs to a brightly illuminated laboratory. Racks of plastic bins lined the back bulkhead, all filled with various artifacts recovered from the wreck and now soaking in fresh water.

"Most of the items recovered were fragments of the actual ship," she explained. "The cargo holds and living quarters must all be under the lava, as we recovered few personal artifacts. We did find a few everyday cooking utensils and a large pot," she said, pointing to an end rack, "but you will probably be most interested in these."