waters over the centuries sailed in more narrow beamed double-enders."

"You're right," said Pitt.  "The sharp bow and stern were handed down

from the Vikings.  What we're seeing here might also be a double-ender,

but with a broader sweep."

"Can't get a clear picture through the ice-covered section of the hull,"

said Gronquist.  "But we could drop a camera back of the stern in clear

water for a better identification."

Giordino looked doubtful.  "A camera might confirm the stern section of

a wrecked ship, but little else."

"We've plenty of strong male backs on the ship," said Lily. "We could

tunnel down through the ice and inspect her at first hand."

Gronquist took a pair of binoculars and walked out of the electronics

compartment to the bridge.  He returned in half a minute.  "I make the

ice cover over the wreck to be a good four meters thick.  Take at least

two days to cut through."

"You'll have to dig without us, I'm afraid," said Knight. "My orders are

to get under way before 1800 hours.  We've no time left for a lengthy

excavation."

Gronquist was taken aback.  "That's only five hours from now."

Knight made a helpless gesture.  "I'm sorry, I have no say in the

matter."

Pitt studied the dark spot on the recording paper.  Then he turned to

Knight.  "If I proved positively that's a fourth-century Roman ship out

there, could you persuade North Atlantic command to keep us on station

for another day or two?"

Knight's eyes took on a foxy look.  "What are you cooking up?"

"Will you go along?" Pitt crowded him.

"Yes," Knight stated firmly.  "But only if you prove, without a shadow

of a doubt, that's a thousand-year-old shipwreck.  " ... Then it's a

deal."

"How are you going to do it?"

"Simple," said Pitt, reeling Knight in.  "I'm going to dive under the

ice and come up into the hull."

Cork Simon and his crew worked quickly at cutting an access hole through

the one-meter-thick ice sheet with chain saws.  They quarried multiple

squares until they reached the final layer.  They broke through with a

sledgehammer mounted on a long pipe and then removed the ice fragments

with grappling hooks so Pitt could safely submerge.

When he was satisfied the hole was clear, Simon walked a few steps and

entered a small canvas-covered shelter.  The interior was heated and

warm and crowded with men and diving equipment.  An air compressor sat

next to the heating unit, chugging away, its exhaust vented to the

outside.

Lily and the other archaeologists were sitting at a folding table in one

corner of the shelter, making a series of drawings and discussing them

with Pitt as he suited up for the dive.

"Ready when you are," Simon announced.

"Another five minutes," Giordino replied while busily checking the valve

assemblies and regulator on a Mark I navy diver's mask.

Pitt had slipped a special dry suit over long underwear made of heavy