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A Eurocentric bias is common in most Western writing, but the authors make a genuine effort to be fair and include extensive sections on the Arabs and Chinese. These sections would no doubt have been more extensive if more source material were available. The History also does well in balancing war and trade. Merchant vessels always outnumbered warships, but chroniclers almost always found a naval battle more interesting than a boatload of cargo . The inadequacy of many sources also becomes apparent in other ways. Ancient and medieval historians , with noteworthy exceptions like Thucydides , made very imaginative use of numbers . Haws and Hurst usually weed out the dubious figures regarding , for example, the size of navies, but they should perhaps have been more sceptical at times. The spelling of names and places likewise reflects the confusion of sources and is in places plainly wrong . The History is strongest in its treatment of more recent events where the authors had reliable material to work with. The diversity of the source material is reflected in the superb bibliography , and the excellent index gives an idea of the scope of the authors' accomplishment. Although the maps could be better, the numerous pictures are well-chosen and reproduced . The History would have benefited from the inclusion oflengthier discussions and diagrams of certain ship-types. A critic can always spot shortcomings in a work of such breadth . But in the final analysis, these volumes are well-organized and are equally good for browsing through or for looking up a particular event. Many readers may disagree with the authors' generously scattered opinions, but the authors ' approach helps make the History entertaining. The following story is recounted in a footnote: The Arab general and conqueror of Egypt, ibn Al-As Amr, when asked by the Caliph Omar what the sea was like, replied , " The sea is a huge beast on which silly people ride like worms on logs." Anyone interested in the history of these people should have these volumes , and anyone interested in good stories will enjoy them. GARY KETELS
Mr. Ketels is an historian living in Munich.
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42
A Need for Care Tarquin's Ship: The Etruscan Wreck in Campese Bay, by Alexander McKee (Souvenir Press, Ltd., London , Eng., 1985 , 216pp, illus , £14.50) . It was Alexander McKee who , with his team of Solent Sub-Aqua Club divers, initiated the action that led to the discovery and ultimate raising of the Mary Rose, pride of Henry VIII's navy . In his latest book , Tarquin' s Ship, McKee relates how in 1962 he became aware of important ship remains in the Mediterranean, and in particular , one at the island of Giglio off the Italian coast north of Rome . Although McKee was fully engaged in the Mary Rose project for twenty years, he maintained an interest in the Giglio ship and returned to it in 1982. In his absence, a strong team had been working in the area. Despite the risksdiving to l 50ft, considered a great depth in the early years of the project-the team persevered in their exploration and in protecting the precious discoveries from looters and vandals. As a result of their efforts, many significant archaeological discoveries have been made, not only at Campese Bay but elsewhere along the Italian coast. When McKee was again able to devote himself to the project, from 1982 to 1984, important parts of an ancient ship were found , together with amphoras and other artifacts from which it appears that the 2,500-yearold remains are those of an Etruscan ship which followed the trade routes of the Eastern mediterranean and which was , at the time of her loss, carrying a general cargo from a variety of lands and ports. She could well be an Etruscan "tramp " engaged in a far broader range of trade than hitherto suspected of individual ancient merchant ships . McKee has produced a book of great historical interest, first recounting what little is known of the ancient Etruscans. Although there are abundant archaeological remains of this dynamic and artistic people of ancient Italy, virtually nothing of their history, language or culture has survived. In the closing chapter, McKee speculates on the many ships lost in the ancient Mediterranean, their hulls and cargos awaiting discovery, protection and proper evaluation. These vessels have lain undisturbed for over 2,000 years, until twentieth-century techniques rendered them accessible. But McKee stresses throughout the need for careful investigattion, recording and conservation of th1ese relics . This is truly a book for all intcerested in the ancient world , as well as tlhose who appreciate well told SEA HISTORY , SPRING 1986