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Dragon Sea: A True Tale of Treasure, Archeology, and Greed off the Coast of Vietnam
When Oxford archeologist Mensun Bound—dubbed the “Indiana Jones of the Deep” by the Discovery Channel—teamed up with a financier to salvage a sunken trove of fifteenth-century porcelain, it seemed a dream enterprise. The stakes were high: The Hoi An wreck lay hundreds of feet down in a typhoon-prone stretch of water off the coast of Vietnam known as the Dragon Sea. Raising its contents required saturation diving, a crew of 160, and a fleet of boats. The costs were unprecedented. But the potential rewards were equally high: Bound would revolutionize thinking about Vietnamese ceramics, and his partner would make a fortune auctioning off the pieces. Hired as the project’s manager, Frank Pope watched the tumultuous drama of the Hoi An unfold. In Dragon Sea he delivers an engrossing tale of danger, adventure, and ambition—a fascinating object lesson in what happens when scholarship and money join forces to recover lost treasure.
368 pages, Hardcover
First published January 8, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
February 10, 2019
This is an incredible book, packed with facts and tensions. The true account of finding and recovering a massive pottery hoard on a sunken ship off Vietnam is told by the manager of the diving teams.
We learn, among other things, that the aqualung was invented by my childhood hero Jacques Cousteau, with an engineer who produced his plans. We are told the history of Vietnamese reigns and takeovers by Chinese, the differences in the ceramics industries of both nations, and why you don't want to flood the market with pottery for auction. We learn about the evolution of deep sea diving and how the body responds to pressures and different air mixtures; how the innovation which allowed divers to live for weeks under deep sea pressure and walk around on the seabed suddenly opened up the seafloor for exploration and exploitation (as well as imagined habitats).
And then we learn what it's like to be on a massive, laden barge anchored at four points in a severe storm at sea. The fussiness and strict discipline of marine archaeology (unsettlingly spelt archeology in my copy, is that American? Looks like the study of arches). Compounding the stresses we get to understand the privateers of modern day, in it to win it. The costs absorbed by such a vast and dangerous operation mean that museums can't, just can't, pay for deep-sunken wrecks to be recovered. And the financial balancing pushes divers and their managers to work far beyond the limits of what is safe or sane, in a country with no regulation.
If you have previously read about the recovery of the Mary Rose you will be fascinated to read about the extra challenges posed by the Hoi An shipwreck; those with no prior experience of the topic may find this book a little too technically detailed. The author is writing from his specialty, with great clarity, and the line drawings help us understand exactly what is going on underwater and in the archaeological / business project. So I would recommend jumping in and enjoying the book.
I borrowed this book from the Royal Dublin Society Library. This is an unbiased review.
We learn, among other things, that the aqualung was invented by my childhood hero Jacques Cousteau, with an engineer who produced his plans. We are told the history of Vietnamese reigns and takeovers by Chinese, the differences in the ceramics industries of both nations, and why you don't want to flood the market with pottery for auction. We learn about the evolution of deep sea diving and how the body responds to pressures and different air mixtures; how the innovation which allowed divers to live for weeks under deep sea pressure and walk around on the seabed suddenly opened up the seafloor for exploration and exploitation (as well as imagined habitats).
And then we learn what it's like to be on a massive, laden barge anchored at four points in a severe storm at sea. The fussiness and strict discipline of marine archaeology (unsettlingly spelt archeology in my copy, is that American? Looks like the study of arches). Compounding the stresses we get to understand the privateers of modern day, in it to win it. The costs absorbed by such a vast and dangerous operation mean that museums can't, just can't, pay for deep-sunken wrecks to be recovered. And the financial balancing pushes divers and their managers to work far beyond the limits of what is safe or sane, in a country with no regulation.
If you have previously read about the recovery of the Mary Rose you will be fascinated to read about the extra challenges posed by the Hoi An shipwreck; those with no prior experience of the topic may find this book a little too technically detailed. The author is writing from his specialty, with great clarity, and the line drawings help us understand exactly what is going on underwater and in the archaeological / business project. So I would recommend jumping in and enjoying the book.
I borrowed this book from the Royal Dublin Society Library. This is an unbiased review.
June 5, 2019
A very well written book, exploration, adventure, treasure hunting all rolled into one, the author as blended all these elements together and produced a thrilling story. Treasure hunting in the Far East, the characters are well defined, the story line flows, the author creates a interesting environment in which the story takes plance and it works so well that it grips your imagination right through the book. As I am a big Indian Jones fan, this book really appeal to me, and will also appeal to people that enjoy the movies National Treasure, City of Gold with Jack Wilder, Black sails were they hunt for the spanish gold, Romancing the Stone, King Sollomans mines. There are no editorial errors in the books, the front cover is attractive. A very good book, it was a pleasure to read it.
December 30, 2017
Great book about the clash between archaeology and treasure-hunting in the depths of the South China Sea. Reminiscent of another great book that I read, "Shadow Divers" by Robert Kurson.
October 21, 2020
It can be a thin line between salvage and treasure hunting. And salvage is where Ong Soo Hin started when he worked to recover the contents of various sunken cargo ships especially when tin and other metals were concerned. But he was soon bitten by the treasure bug while working with Mike Hatcher, a hunter who was more concerned about how much money he could get out of a wreck and how well he could sneak his pieces under governmental radar in order to get it to auction houses.
The author, Frank Pope, worked as the archaeological manager on the Hoi An wreck so he was able to see and experience what for many people would seem to be a dream come true. Working on a treasure hunt only the hunting was done - the ship was found and with saturation divers, thousands and thousands of pieces of porcelain was being recovered from the cargo holds of this large ship that was suspected to go down in the 15th or 16th century.
This book provides an interesting look into the capricious career of treasure hunting. Finding a shipwreck. Then finding investors who are only concerned with making their investment back and more. Having an archeological aspect to the recovery can provide provenance and authenticity to the finds - which in turn can raise the prices when some of the cargo goes to auction. The massive amount of money needed for workers - some quite specialized and in demand - as well as equipment. Dancing around the government regulations and taxation laws in regards to gaining a license to excavate within a nation's territorial waters. Dealing with weather and possible pirates - they're not just after ransom or cargo. And once the government demands are satisfied, finding an auction house that will lure buyers for the workers share of the cargo so that the investors can be reimbursed and hopefully some money made. And it's all unpredictable and mercurial.
In the end, successful treasure hunters are rare and very far between. One spectacular find can make a hunter's reputation but once all the costs are paid, rarely do they make the fortune dreamed of.
Of course, being an arm-chair treasure hunter is the preferred lot for most people. Reading about other exploits and adventures without having to endure the depreciations.
Oh, as the for the wreck itself. It was eventually suspected to have gone down in a typhoon in 1436. Why Vietnamese porcelain? The Ming Dynasty had banned all exports that year and the ship and it's owners were likely desperate for cargo so they travelled down the coast to Van Dong, which already had a ceramics industry which for this once-in-a lifetime production run, filled the ship with hundreds of thousands of porcelain artifacts. It can't be proven but it does answer many of the questions.
2020-212
The author, Frank Pope, worked as the archaeological manager on the Hoi An wreck so he was able to see and experience what for many people would seem to be a dream come true. Working on a treasure hunt only the hunting was done - the ship was found and with saturation divers, thousands and thousands of pieces of porcelain was being recovered from the cargo holds of this large ship that was suspected to go down in the 15th or 16th century.
This book provides an interesting look into the capricious career of treasure hunting. Finding a shipwreck. Then finding investors who are only concerned with making their investment back and more. Having an archeological aspect to the recovery can provide provenance and authenticity to the finds - which in turn can raise the prices when some of the cargo goes to auction. The massive amount of money needed for workers - some quite specialized and in demand - as well as equipment. Dancing around the government regulations and taxation laws in regards to gaining a license to excavate within a nation's territorial waters. Dealing with weather and possible pirates - they're not just after ransom or cargo. And once the government demands are satisfied, finding an auction house that will lure buyers for the workers share of the cargo so that the investors can be reimbursed and hopefully some money made. And it's all unpredictable and mercurial.
In the end, successful treasure hunters are rare and very far between. One spectacular find can make a hunter's reputation but once all the costs are paid, rarely do they make the fortune dreamed of.
Of course, being an arm-chair treasure hunter is the preferred lot for most people. Reading about other exploits and adventures without having to endure the depreciations.
Oh, as the for the wreck itself. It was eventually suspected to have gone down in a typhoon in 1436. Why Vietnamese porcelain? The Ming Dynasty had banned all exports that year and the ship and it's owners were likely desperate for cargo so they travelled down the coast to Van Dong, which already had a ceramics industry which for this once-in-a lifetime production run, filled the ship with hundreds of thousands of porcelain artifacts. It can't be proven but it does answer many of the questions.
2020-212
July 5, 2022
I picked this book up from a bargain bin, not realizing it was a non-fiction. However, this was a really fascinating read. It goes into the history of underwater salvage, archeology and treasure hunting, and how they mesh together, not always successfully, on a recovery job for a Vietnamese shipwreck. I found the history absolutely fascinating and was quickly engrossed in the book.
June 15, 2010
Perfect read for my trip to Vietnam. I finished the last few pages as the bus I was on pulled into Hoi-An, the city where supposedly some of the artifacts were on display from the story.
One man's account of a true story. This book takes place over about 2 years time and is about the finding of and recovery of sunken ships that may or may not have valuable artifacts on them. They are hoping they do have valuable artifacts because the selling of the items at the end is ultimately what finances the expedition. Underwater archeology, entrepreneurship, dangerous storms, saturation diving, greed.
This story is mainly about a Vietnamese ship they look for, find, try map and study, and recover artifacts from, while avoiding typhoons.
Surprisingly, this story ends with the beginning of Ebay.
One man's account of a true story. This book takes place over about 2 years time and is about the finding of and recovery of sunken ships that may or may not have valuable artifacts on them. They are hoping they do have valuable artifacts because the selling of the items at the end is ultimately what finances the expedition. Underwater archeology, entrepreneurship, dangerous storms, saturation diving, greed.
This story is mainly about a Vietnamese ship they look for, find, try map and study, and recover artifacts from, while avoiding typhoons.
Surprisingly, this story ends with the beginning of Ebay.
August 16, 2007
I'm not sure what about deep sea diving has appealed to me - but you can also refer back to my review of Shadow Divers: the true adventure of two Americans who risked everything to solve one of the last mysteries of World War II.
In this diving tale, Pope is recounting the difficulties of a saturation dive (where the divers live at deep sea pressures for weeks on end) for the ceramics cargo of a junk found off the shores of Vietnam. The major problem? Thing had to be done with archaeological approval. So when you get a capitalist and an archaeologist both in the same project, you'd expect to have some differences of opinion. Add to this mix bad weather, crew difficulties, cost cutting, and risky dives and it makes for a gripping story at point.
In this diving tale, Pope is recounting the difficulties of a saturation dive (where the divers live at deep sea pressures for weeks on end) for the ceramics cargo of a junk found off the shores of Vietnam. The major problem? Thing had to be done with archaeological approval. So when you get a capitalist and an archaeologist both in the same project, you'd expect to have some differences of opinion. Add to this mix bad weather, crew difficulties, cost cutting, and risky dives and it makes for a gripping story at point.
November 21, 2007
As an archaeology buff, and a antiquities collector, I was mostly interested in this book for the tales of ancient salvage, but I really got into the dangers of deep sea diving, and I found the book to be well presented with engrossing writing.
March 26, 2010
Deep sea archeology of the coast of Vietnam. This was a very intriguing read. I was pulled in from all sides the history of the ceramics being excavated, the details in the scientific process to do so, the struggle of a combined archeological and financial expedition.
July 26, 2016
This book is amazing! I love archaeology and I always thought underwater archaeology was fascinating and terrifying. This book does it so well. It feels like an amazing documentary.
July 10, 2023
If anyone is interested in why I never became a saturation diver they need to only read this book! I first came across dragon sea about 10 years ago, several years after it was first published. I listened to it on audible, and thought it was absolutely brilliant. Recently I decided to re-read it and got a copy in hardcover and I’m so happy I did because it was filled with beautiful line drawings by the author.
Frank Pope worked on the Hoi an project under Oxford archaeologist Mensun bound who has been called the Indiana Jones of the deep. Both were hired on a contract basis by the salvage company to be the on-site archaeologists. By the time this salvage project occurred it had become less and less viable for private companies to dig up the past. This wreck went down in international waters. But it was filled with a cargo of cultural heritage that belong to the Vietnamese people and so a consortium was created whereby they did all the work and made all the investment and the Vietnamese government was allowed to 30% of the total sale as well as 10% first choice pieces for their museums. This wreck was in very deep waters and involved saturation diving and for me that was the most unforgettable part of the book was his fabulous descriptions of what happened when there was very bad weather, basically typhoon season.
I really felt at the time when I first read the book that it was really perfect story encompassing everything involved with these kinds of projects involving cultural heritage. Plus there was all of the content about the romance of shipwrecks and Chinese and Vietnamese ceramics, not to mention rivalry in the academic world of art history and archaeology. It held my attention from the first page the last page I found the writing absolutely riveting.
It didn’t hurt that the story also involve the main characters crossing paths with a very well known treasure hunter mike Hatcher. A lot of the well-known options of shipwreck ceramics found in southeast Asian waters are featured in this book so it really is a sweeping story that’s beautifully and wonderfully written.
Frank Pope worked on the Hoi an project under Oxford archaeologist Mensun bound who has been called the Indiana Jones of the deep. Both were hired on a contract basis by the salvage company to be the on-site archaeologists. By the time this salvage project occurred it had become less and less viable for private companies to dig up the past. This wreck went down in international waters. But it was filled with a cargo of cultural heritage that belong to the Vietnamese people and so a consortium was created whereby they did all the work and made all the investment and the Vietnamese government was allowed to 30% of the total sale as well as 10% first choice pieces for their museums. This wreck was in very deep waters and involved saturation diving and for me that was the most unforgettable part of the book was his fabulous descriptions of what happened when there was very bad weather, basically typhoon season.
I really felt at the time when I first read the book that it was really perfect story encompassing everything involved with these kinds of projects involving cultural heritage. Plus there was all of the content about the romance of shipwrecks and Chinese and Vietnamese ceramics, not to mention rivalry in the academic world of art history and archaeology. It held my attention from the first page the last page I found the writing absolutely riveting.
It didn’t hurt that the story also involve the main characters crossing paths with a very well known treasure hunter mike Hatcher. A lot of the well-known options of shipwreck ceramics found in southeast Asian waters are featured in this book so it really is a sweeping story that’s beautifully and wonderfully written.
May 30, 2017
A very gripped mg book about the use of saturation driving to retrieve artifacts from sunken ships off the coast of Vietnam. While most efforts are undertaken by treasure hunters, this book describes an effort that involved archaeologists to map what the found and make detailed reports of their findings. The Hoi An wreck dates from the 1430's and they salvagers brought up over 750,000 porcelain plates, dishes, bowls statues and other bounty. As one archaeologist observes: "There must be a commercial dimension on certain wrecks because otherwise they will never be done and will be destroyed instead. The money is just not there in archaeology, learned societies or third world governments to do this work. Besides, 95% of archaeologists are not field people--though they like to think they are--and less than 1% are prepared to work in far-fling impoverished countries."
February 8, 2024
Though this book was distributed in 2007 (and therefore maritime archeology's techniques and technology have drastically changed) it gives great insight into the beginning of the world of diving, maritime archeology as a scientific field, and the ongoing feuds between academics and treasure hunters looking for shipwrecks. The author gives unflinching observations on personal and professional conflicts as the crew tries for the first time to marry academic study with for-profit funding. Spoiler alert--it doesn't go well. Kathryn and I really enjoyed it. I only wish it had more photos instead of drawings.
March 14, 2018
This book is quite entertaining and informative read, with a good balance of scientific and archeological information. It provides an intriguing glimpse into the rigors, challenges, and excitement of maritime archaeology.
February 18, 2021
I have no idea why I randomly picked this book off the library shelf, but I’m glad I did. I really enjoyed the story and learned some fascinating stuff about deep sea archeology, ancient Asian ceramics, and the market that buys and sells them.
October 31, 2021
Tale of the salvage from Vietnamese waters of the Hot An ceramics treasure. Saturation diving off barges for 58 days at a time. Tough job. Interesting book. 3½***
August 22, 2022
Although, this wouldn't be my typical choice, I read it for a book challenge. It was worth my time. At times he got technical or overly descriptive but he kept my interest and I learned a lot.
October 9, 2023
This book has a fascinating history - especially about diving and how that affects your body. The details of the dive(s) for treasure got a bit mundane for me personally.
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June 30, 202481%
DNF
DNF
February 11, 2025
I listened to all this audiobook even though it focused on deep sea diving which was not what I was looking for
June 26, 2009
I had a very hard time connecting with this book. It tells the story of a $14 million treasure hunt for ta15th century Vietnamese sunken ship full of porcelain located off the coast of Vietnam. The author tries hard to build an exciting story around the dive and subsequent auction by introducing the historical significance of the finding. Yet, what is lost is not history surrounding the invention of porcelain in China or its manufacturing process spill into Vietnam, but the essence of what makes people lust after a sunken treasure, the excitement of finding that treasure and the minute by minute experience of bringing that treasure to the surface.
For a truly exciting diving story, try Shadow Divers.
For a truly exciting diving story, try Shadow Divers.
October 15, 2019
It is an interesting story, and the author keeps one fairly well engaged throughout. The distinction between "excavation" (for digging up treasure) and "archeology" for the purpose of preserving our history takes a prominent role here, but at the end of the day they must work together in order for either to flourish, I think. However, one incident on the barge sticks with me as a reflection of what is wrong with our current culture. Most days aboard ship are full of enough that's going on that "normal" people would find this interesting. To "jazz things up" a bit for a treasure-hunter's show (that I've never seen) the principals set out to stage a totally fake pirate raid. It is just a small part of the story, but demonstrated to me that we are all far too ready to be entertained when being informed seems not to be quite enough.
November 19, 2012
An enjoyable enough read which tries to get into the personalities and the psychology of the variety of characters which make the rasing of the Hoi An Horde an interesting tale of salvage and artwork.
The breadth of what Mr. Pope was trying to cover, from the history of the times, the manufacture of varieties of stonewear and porcilin, economics and politics of both the ancient past as well as current, left everything touched on, but not really deeply covered.
It is a good sea yarn, but which skims the individual topics but not deeply enough to be truly satisfying.
The breadth of what Mr. Pope was trying to cover, from the history of the times, the manufacture of varieties of stonewear and porcilin, economics and politics of both the ancient past as well as current, left everything touched on, but not really deeply covered.
It is a good sea yarn, but which skims the individual topics but not deeply enough to be truly satisfying.
February 3, 2009
The premise here was different from other dive-related books that I've read - and intriguing. The book described the excavation of a shipwreck in the South China Sea as the joint effort between an academic archeologist and an entrepeneur. Obviouly conflicting interests. In places a tad more technical on the marine stuff than I could follow, but overall held my interest and raised some good questions.
January 7, 2011
So nice to find a book taking place in Vietnam that is not about the war. I really loved this book except that as it was wrapping up, I realized there was nothing about the history of the ship and ceramics except a tiny afterword. Maybe he couldn't steal Menson Bound's Thunder, but it would have been nice for the drama of the recovering the cargo to coincide with the drama of revealing the archaeological details of the ship.
March 2, 2016
For Christmas, I got a piece of the porcelain found on the shipwreck featured in this book. I decided to read "Dragon Sea" to learn more about my gift. The book was only interesting to me because I owned a piece of the "treasure." The writing itself, however, is not very good. Pope uses technical phrases which the average reader would not understand and the story is slow at parts.
September 11, 2007
follows the story of one of the largest porcelain hauls from the seabed in history. that part gets really boring, however it also contains a good history of deep sea diving. discusses the techmology, the blood, the gore, and the bends.
October 7, 2011
I have always enjoyed tales like this. I read a lot of stuff about Mel Fisher, in the day. Didn't know that much about ceramics from Vietnam, this tells you enough, that you can feel the importance of the find.
August 1, 2013
Not quite fluff, not quite coffee table veneer but a good summer break for the beach or porch with coffee, ice cream or beer enriched by overtones of helium submersion diving including wisps of pirates, dragons, and dead bodies.
May 26, 2009
Deep sea ceramics recovery off Vietnam coast
Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews