Abstract:

The ocean conceals secrets, ancient, modern, and future. Nic Flemming’s memoir recounts the life of a pioneer in ocean science. Each chapter describes a thread that structured his work: underwater cities, submerged Ice Age caverns dripping with stalactites, the limits to ocean exploitation, ocean climate change, prehistoric settlements on the continental shelf, ocean law, and safe scientific diving. Flemming is paralysed from the chest down and has used a wheelchair for the past 52 years; one chapter assesses how he has continued to work in rough conditions and at sea, visiting 60 countries since his accident.

Flemming’s early experience with the Royal Marines Special Boat Service provided the foundation for a scientific research career under water. Intrigued by a report of a sunken city seen from a helicopter, he set out to map the submerged Greek city at Apollonia, near Benghazi, in 1958-59, as a Cambridge undergraduate. Doctoral research on the cause of submergence and uplift of hundreds of coastal Mediterranean ruins was followed by adventures in now-submerged caves from the Ice Ages when the sea level was lower.

In 1965, as industry awakened to the potential of seabed exploitation, Flemming journeyed around the world to assess marine technology and forecast future developments for UK industries. This led to participation in the UN Committee on the Law of the Sea and in the design of a Global Ocean Observing System.

Flemming later turned to academic research around submerged stratified prehistoric settlements. Advances in seabed mapping now enable marine archaeologists to study and plot numerous sites in the context of the Ice Age terrestrial landscape.

This is a multi-disciplinary adventure story that argues that different skills and fields can interact creatively with surprising results. It will be enjoyed by all those interested in the development of underwater archaeology, climate science, and ocean exploration.

The Film

The original footage from the first expedition to Apollonia has recently been restored and contains some of the only existing documentation of the ruins as they stood in 1958. To watch the film and find more background information, please visit Nic Flemming’s website.

Apollonia on Wreckwatch

Awards

Apollonia on my Mind was nominated for the Keith Muckelroy Memorial Award 2023, and was Highly Commended by the jury.

“A beautifully written autobiography, which Keith would no doubt have enjoyed reading. The author’s life’s work has made a serious contribution to maritime archaeology, and he still plays an important role in the development of the subject. This publication illustrate the breadth and depth of his contributions, particularly through interdisciplinary work. It is an excellent demonstration of how long-term fieldwork and research can produce more profound impacts than shorter projects. The book is also an important personal perspective of the social history of one field of maritime archaeology and of progress in both this field and oceanography, in the context of developing multidisciplinary science and changing politics. The author’s observations and personal recollections of the development of the discipline and his own research and fieldwork make for an informative and particularly interesting read and provide a reminder of the collective value of recording these perspectives, which rarely appear in academic reports. His final note on the worrying impact of climate change is well made.”

The judges felt that this book was so special that the author also deserved a Lifetime Achievement Award.

Contents

Preface

Chapter 1. Apollonia on my Mind
Chapter 2. For Queen and Country under the Sea
Chapter 3. Childhoods and Family Life
Chapter 4. Caves Beneath the Sea: Palaces of the Sea King
Chapter 5. Round the World to an Octopus Farm
Chapter 6. Cities in the Sea
Chapter 7. Disability: A Statistical Sample of One
Chapter 8. Scientific Diving: Technology and Safety
Chapter 9. From Law of the Sea to Ocean Forecasting
Chapter 10. Stone Age Lands Beneath the Waves
Chapter 11. Requiem for Apollonia

Further Reading
Index