Explorer of the Deep

A dazzling biography of Honor Frost, a pioneer of underwater archaeology whose trailblazing career resurrecting sunken ships forever changed our understanding of the past.

Near a remote beach in southern Turkey in 1960, a group of divers risked their lives to excavate an ancient shipwreck carrying a priceless Bronze Age cargo. The expedition would go down in history as the first rigorous, scientific mission devoted to maritime archaeology. But for decades, the woman who made it possible was largely overlooked.

Honor Frost, the mission’s intrepid draftswoman, was an expert scuba diver and surveyor—and the person most responsible for convincing the archaeological world to take underwater excavation seriously. In EXPLORER OF THE DEEP, Janna Brancolini draws on extensive archival research and original interviews to bring Honor’s story to life in rich, cinematic detail, blending art, history, and science to trace her fascinating rise from artistic prodigy to diving fanatic to archaeological pioneer excavating across the Mediterranean.

After a childhood in colonial Cyprus and years spent in London’s pre- and post-war art scene, Honor was vacationing in France in 1950 when she joined Jacques Cousteau’s mostly male scuba diving club and decided “time spent on the surface was time wasted.” Working on an archeological dig in Jericho, she realized she could apply the same scientific methods to shipwrecks, something considered impossible at the time. What followed was a decades-long passion for exploring wonders of the ancient world and uncovering the secrets of some of history’s greatest civilizations.