finds, mainly fragments of pottery. “Some of this is Indian, Tamil style,” she said, passing Jack a sherd in a polythene bag. “That one has a Tamil graffito on it, possibly the word Ramaya. It could be the name of the merchant himself, but I think it’s the name for the Roman community in south India, the name the local people there gave it.”
“You think this guy was Indian?” Costas said.
“Or his wife,” Aysha said. “Take a look at this.” She pointed to a chunk of sandstone about thirty centimeters across, highly eroded but with a carving on the front. It showed a woman, with pronounced hips and breasts, in a swirling motion as if she were dancing, between pillars with spiral fluting surmounted by a decorative architrave. “When she was found, my British assistant called her the Venus of Berenikê,” Aysha said. “Typical western perspective. For my money, she’s Indian. The swirl, the decoration, are clearly south Indian. I think she’s not a classical goddess at all, but a yaksi , an Indian female spirit. You might expect to find this in a cave temple in Tamil Nadu, the farthest point we know Roman merchants visited along the coast of India, on the Bay of Bengal.”
“And look at this.” Hiebermeyer pointed at an airtight box with a thermostat alongside. “That’s silk.”
“Silk?” Costas said. “You mean from China?”
“We think so,” Aysha said excitedly. “We think this shows that silk wasn’t just coming overland via Persia to the Roman Empire. It was also arriving by sea, from the ports of India. It shows that traders were leaving the Silk Route somewhere in central Asia, and going south through Afghanistan and down the Indus and the Ganges to reach the ports where they met up with merchants like this one. And yes, Costas, it brings China one step closer to the Roman world.”
“Maybe that’s where all the gold was going,” Costas said. “Not to buy pepper, but silk.”
“Another nice idea,” Jack murmured.
“Find a shipwreck of that trade, and that would be a cargo worth excavating,” Hiebermeyer said. “Even I concede that. An ancient East Indiaman.”
“I think we might be just one step ahead of you there, old boy,” Costas replied, kicking at a rock, glancing at Jack. But Hiebermeyer bounded away to the other side of the excavation, where he lifted up an aluminium case and carried it carefully back toward them, the sweat now pouring off him.
Costas picked up the rock, and Jack watched him. It was a gemstone, uncut, deep blue with speckles of gold. “Check this out.”
Aysha looked over, then gasped. “It’s lapis lazuli! Maurice, look! Costas has found a piece of lapis lazuli!”
Hiebermeyer put down the case and took the stone from Costas, raising his glasses and peering at it, turning it over and wiping it. “My God,” he muttered. “It’s the highest grade. From Afghanistan. That’s another piece of the jigsaw puzzle. They also traded for this. Lapis lazuli was worth a fortune too.”
“Months of painstaking excavation and you would never have found it,” Costas said, looking at Hiebermeyer deadpan.
Hiebermeyer’s eyes narrowed. “Where, might I ask, did you pick this up?”
Costas pointed down, grinning. “You just have to know where to look.”
Hiebermeyer snorted, then carefully placed the stone on a finds tray. “Something of Jack’s knack has clearly rubbed off on you. And now for the real treasure.”
“There’s more?” Jack said.
Hiebermeyer tapped the case. “I’ve been waiting for Seaquest II to arrive. We need full lab facilities, infrared viewers, multispectral imagery. We need a place to look at this properly, not out here, in this oven,” he said, wiping his face. “We’re finished here for the season. It’s become too hot. My Egyptian foreman will close up the site. Aysha and I have already said our good-byes to the team, and we’re ready and packed.”
“You mean you want to go right now?” Jack
“You think this guy was Indian?” Costas said.
“Or his wife,” Aysha said. “Take a look at this.” She pointed to a chunk of sandstone about thirty centimeters across, highly eroded but with a carving on the front. It showed a woman, with pronounced hips and breasts, in a swirling motion as if she were dancing, between pillars with spiral fluting surmounted by a decorative architrave. “When she was found, my British assistant called her the Venus of Berenikê,” Aysha said. “Typical western perspective. For my money, she’s Indian. The swirl, the decoration, are clearly south Indian. I think she’s not a classical goddess at all, but a yaksi , an Indian female spirit. You might expect to find this in a cave temple in Tamil Nadu, the farthest point we know Roman merchants visited along the coast of India, on the Bay of Bengal.”
“And look at this.” Hiebermeyer pointed at an airtight box with a thermostat alongside. “That’s silk.”
“Silk?” Costas said. “You mean from China?”
“We think so,” Aysha said excitedly. “We think this shows that silk wasn’t just coming overland via Persia to the Roman Empire. It was also arriving by sea, from the ports of India. It shows that traders were leaving the Silk Route somewhere in central Asia, and going south through Afghanistan and down the Indus and the Ganges to reach the ports where they met up with merchants like this one. And yes, Costas, it brings China one step closer to the Roman world.”
“Maybe that’s where all the gold was going,” Costas said. “Not to buy pepper, but silk.”
“Another nice idea,” Jack murmured.
“Find a shipwreck of that trade, and that would be a cargo worth excavating,” Hiebermeyer said. “Even I concede that. An ancient East Indiaman.”
“I think we might be just one step ahead of you there, old boy,” Costas replied, kicking at a rock, glancing at Jack. But Hiebermeyer bounded away to the other side of the excavation, where he lifted up an aluminium case and carried it carefully back toward them, the sweat now pouring off him.
Costas picked up the rock, and Jack watched him. It was a gemstone, uncut, deep blue with speckles of gold. “Check this out.”
Aysha looked over, then gasped. “It’s lapis lazuli! Maurice, look! Costas has found a piece of lapis lazuli!”
Hiebermeyer put down the case and took the stone from Costas, raising his glasses and peering at it, turning it over and wiping it. “My God,” he muttered. “It’s the highest grade. From Afghanistan. That’s another piece of the jigsaw puzzle. They also traded for this. Lapis lazuli was worth a fortune too.”
“Months of painstaking excavation and you would never have found it,” Costas said, looking at Hiebermeyer deadpan.
Hiebermeyer’s eyes narrowed. “Where, might I ask, did you pick this up?”
Costas pointed down, grinning. “You just have to know where to look.”
Hiebermeyer snorted, then carefully placed the stone on a finds tray. “Something of Jack’s knack has clearly rubbed off on you. And now for the real treasure.”
“There’s more?” Jack said.
Hiebermeyer tapped the case. “I’ve been waiting for Seaquest II to arrive. We need full lab facilities, infrared viewers, multispectral imagery. We need a place to look at this properly, not out here, in this oven,” he said, wiping his face. “We’re finished here for the season. It’s become too hot. My Egyptian foreman will close up the site. Aysha and I have already said our good-byes to the team, and we’re ready and packed.”
“You mean you want to go right now?” Jack
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