Dragon Sea

In THE DRAGON SEA, Frank Pope recounts the story of a highly successful yet also ill-fated underwater archeological expedition off the coast of Vietnam. For years, fisherman in one particular stretch of water that not just been pulling fish up in their nets but 15th-century Chinese porcelain. Unable to fund an expedition itself, the Vietnamese government authorized Mensun Bound, an Oxford University archaeologist, to excavate the site. Bound teamed up with a Malasian businessman named Ong Soo Hin, who offered to pay for the excavation in exchange for the right to auction off some of the precious cargo recovered. Things went well until typhoon season arrived. The expedition was in mortal danger and the relationship between Bound and Hin disintegrated. Frank Pope was there through it all, and tells the full story of this expedition and the stakes involved, and shows how the unholy alliance of archeologists and profit can lead to disastrous consequences.