Mensun Bound (Fellow)
2 August 2006
Archaeologist, Mensun Bound, has often made the headlines with his exciting underwater discoveries but the latest could turn out to be the greatest yet and it comes in the form of an Elizabethan wreck off the coast of Alderney. The ship was not just carrying munitions, but also was on Queen's Business of the highest national importance.
She was carrying dispatches from no lesser figure than Lord Burghley, the most important person in the realm after the Queen, and they were going to the nation's top soldier who was trying to prevent a second invasion of England by the then most powerful nation in the world, Spain. This, his most challenging project to date, then, is perhaps the most significant find since the raising of the Mary Rose some 35 years ago but it is a costly and difficult project.
Mensun explains, 'It is impossible not to be excited by this wreck (but) the current is a constant source of worry (and) the poor visibility and constantly mutating seabed are also major problems'. Mensun Bound has the reputation of the Indiana Jones of the deep but it seems the sea will not give up its treasures easily. St Peter's wishes him all the best in his work.