The port side offered them nothing. They headed around to the stern and found much of the same. The rear of the ship would have traditionally contained the tall looping sternpost that resembled the neck and head of a swan. But like the central mast, the decorative sternpost had been severed at its base, decapitated some time ago.
There, just around the corner of the stern, was a dark void in the rear section of the starboard side. Both divers headed for it. Zahra arrived first and pulled up to examine the hole. It would be a tight fit, but she was pretty certain she could squeeze through. As for Vincenzo… not so much. He was thicker than Zahra. The only way he could make it inside was if he were to remove his air tank.
Zahra turned to him and jabbed a finger into her own chest. Then, she pointed at the opening. Vincenzo had already done the math and nodded. He unclipped two folded nets from his belt and handed them over to Zahra. Her own belt held similar nets. The plan was to collect two amphorae each for a grand total of four million euros — a penny of which Zahra was certain she’d never see. Nor did she care. She was here for one reason, and she needed to remember that.
But she was enjoying herself — even with the crushing waters of the Mediterranean surrounding her.
Vincenzo gave her a thumbs-up and paddled backward, giving Zahra some room to work and maneuver. The entry point was nearly the size of a warped manhole cover. Zahra closed in and unclipped a small flashlight from her belt. The interior of the ship was much darker. The sunlight didn’t reach here. Surprisingly, the hold looked to be void of most debris and sand. The latter still existed, but not in the amounts that Zahra would have thought. And it made sense because when Vincenzo had briefed her, told her that the excavation team's pump was broken. That would explain the lack of sand inside the cargo hold.
Like a too-tight pair of denim jeans, Zahra wiggled back and forth, taking care not to sever her oxygen hose. Thankfully, the edges of the hole weren’t jagged in the least. The worst thing she could imagine doing was snagging her hose and, momentarily, ripping the regulator out of her mouth. She doubted the hose would tear, though. Her hypothesis gave her confidence, and she planted her hands on the inside of the hull and pushed. After a second of non-movement, Zahra popped free, and she gently drifted into the hold of the centuries-old ship.
It was amazing, but eery. She was terrified of getting stuck with whatever air she had left, a real-life possibility. The wreck was 1,700 years old, after all. Anything could happen. A shift in the tide could collapse the deck on top of her.
Something near the center of the large hold caught her attention. A row of dilapidated crates stuck out like a sore thumb in the otherwise empty space. Other treasures surrounded Zahra, however, none of them had been given the care of the containers she was headed toward now. It felt as if the vessel’s crew had deemed these of ultra-importance.
She kicked for them, stopping in front of a fallen beam. The antiquated fragment sat diagonally across the breadth of the room. She would either have to swim over it, or duck beneath it. She played her light over the ceiling and cringed at what she saw. The deck above her head had started to cave in. There was no telling how long ago it had begun, or whether it was strong enough to last another thousand years. Zahra decided against getting too close, and she opted for the lower route.
She gave the heavy-looking beam a wide berth and hugged the starboard wall where the gap below was the widest. Even though she had plenty of space to make it through, it was still an unnerving couple of seconds. As soon as her hips cleared the beam, the cargo ship moaned. It was the first noise she had heard out of the sunken craft. Zahra instinctively tucked her legs into her chest, rolling into a slow-moving ball.
But nothing happened.
She sighed.
Zahra eyed the ceiling, once more, continuing to float through the hold. She was so focused on the deck coming down on top of her that she hadn’t realized how far she had traveled. The back of her head ever-so-slightly bonked into something hard. Zahra spun and discovered that she had just accidentally floated into the nearest crate. She had just added another transgression to her already laundry list of infractions.
The sound caused her to smile behind her mouthpiece.
