Atlantis

hydrothermal vents.

Several wrecks of ancient merchantmen have been found in the coastal waters of the Black Sea, including one located by a submersible off Bulgaria in 2002. In 2000 the team that pinpointed the ancient shoreline near Sinope found a shipwreck from late antiquity in 320 metres of water, its wonderfully preserved hull an indication of the archaeological marvels that may lie elsewhere in the anoxic depths of the sea.

With the exception of the fictional EH-4, “magic sludge,” and some aspects of laser application, most of the technology presented in this book is grounded in current developments, including matters relating to diving and archaeology. Kazbek is a fictional variant of the Akula-1 class Soviet SSN attack submarine, and thus an imaginary addition to the six boats of this class known to have been commissioned between 1985 and 1990.

The quotes from Plato in Chapter 3 are from The Dialogues of Plato translated by Benjamin Jowett (1817–93). The Bible quotes in Chapter 3 are from Exodus 10:21 and in Chapter 31 from Exodus 20:16–18, Exodus 37:1–5 and Genesis 9:17–19, King James Version.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Anative of Canada, at the age of fifteen David Gibbins dived on his first shipwreck in the Great Lakes. He has worked in underwater archaeology all his professional life. After taking a PhD from Cambridge University, he taught archaeology in Britain and abroad, and is a world authority on ancient shipwrecks and sunken cities. He has led numerous expeditions to investigate underwater sites in the Mediterranean and around the world. He currently divides his time between fieldwork, England and Canada. This is his first novel.