The Mask of Troy

BC.’

‘ Perfect,’ Jeremy exclaimed. ‘Priam would have been about contemporary with Rameses, wouldn’t he? So this sculptor, Seth IV, takes a commission to sculpt the greatest king of Troy, and comes up here with his stone. That clinches it for me.’

‘We’ll do a laser scan and compare the data from the other statues. It’s like fingerprint analysis. But she can tell by eye. You can completely trust it.’

‘Another small step closer to the Trojan War,’ Dillen murmured, shaking his head. ‘I never thought I’d see anything like this in my lifetime.’

Jack pointed at the board. ‘What have you got there?’

Hiebermeyer put it on the ground between them and knelt in front. ‘Look at this. We’ve dug out enough of the passageway walls to project the walls inward to their apex. I’m convinced it’ll be a circular chamber or a tomb.’ He stabbed a finger at the centre of the plan. ‘I’m putting the ground-penetrating radar over that spot first thing tomorrow morning. And I’ve worked out what we need to get through the remaining rubble. I’ve got a crack team coming up from the institute in Egypt. Experienced at digging out pyramids, monumental tombs. Real archaeologists. And Aysha’s coming. She’s my top hieroglyphics expert.’

‘You mean she’s your wife,’ Rebecca said.

‘This is science, Rebecca. Science. I’m talking about assembling the best possible archaeological team. Period.’

‘Dad says archaeology isn’t a science. He says it’s all about emotional understanding of the past. About passion. About your own passion, Maurice. Aysha tells me she really wants children. This would be the perfect place to get serious, don’t you think? Professor Dillen and I will be away. You’ve got the excavation house to yourselves. Jeremy can go and camp with his sleeping bag up on the ruins, can’t you, Jeremy? What about it, Hiemy?’

Hiebermeyer was silent for a moment, apparently absorbed in the plan. Then he looked up, narrowing his eyes at Rebecca. ‘Here’s what Hiemy thinks. You remember how Hiemy offered Rebecca the job of site assistant at the mummy necropolis next summer? Hiemy thinks that if Rebecca’s excellent plan comes to fruition, that job brief might just change. It might change to nanny.’

Rebecca looked aghast. ‘ Not,’ she said vehemently.

Jack bit his lip to stop himself from smiling. He cleared his throat, and turned to Hiebermeyer. ‘Hieroglyphics,’ he murmured, shaking his head doubtfully. ‘Is that really what you saw down there in that tunnel, Maurice?’

Hiebermeyer gave him a defiant look. ‘Did you really see the lion-shaped prow of a Mycenaean galley on the sea bed this afternoon?’

Rebecca looked at Dillen. ‘Dad has a bet with Maurice that he’s going to find the Shield of Achilles before Maurice finds the palladion.’

‘An extra team from Egypt,’ Jack murmured, scratching his stubble. ‘That sounds like an unfair advantage. That raises the stakes. It’s a crate of whisky, not a bottle. And James chooses the malt. It’s for him, after all.’

‘Done,’ Hiebermeyer said.

Costas stood up, spun his spanner, checked his watch and looked at Jeremy. ‘That reminds me. I’ve got an Aquapod to fix. The chopper’s waiting. Want to come and help?’

‘Thought you’d never ask.’

Dillen stood up as well. ‘And I need to go back to my trench. To clean up.’

Hiebermeyer wiped his face, leaving a streak like war paint across his forehead. He looked at Dillen seriously. ‘Of course you do, Professor.’ He grinned. ‘Inspection in half an hour.’