Tarquin’s Ship, by A McKee

Tarquin’s Ship, The Etruscan wreck in Campese Bay
by Alexander McKee

Alexander McKee, historian, diver and underwater photographer is best known for leading the team of amateur divers (including John Bevan) from the Southsea BSAC who spent 20 years searching for and eventually finding the Mary Rose. John Bevan’s admiration and respect for ‘Mac’ (as he was known to his friends) is reflected in his comprehensive collection of McKee’s books of which this is one.

It was in 1962 while on a diving holiday in Giglio with Reg Vallintine that McKee first saw the wreck that was later to be identified as Etruscan. It lay in 150ft of water and was too deep for them to investigate at that time. 20 years later, after locating the Tudor warship Mary Rose, McKee was free to return to Giglio to join an expedition to excavate the wreck in Campese Bay. This book recalls what is known of the Etruscan people, but most of all it is a personal account of the hazards of diving to great depths, the exhilaration of discovery and the ravages of looters.

Hardback with dust jacket in protective cellophane cover.
Dust jacket in very good condition. Inside pages slightly yellowed around the edges but otherwise in very good condition
Black and white and colour photographs throughout.
1985, Souvenir Press, London (First edition)

216 pages, 180mm x 240mm (approx. 7in x 9.5in)