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The sea air carries a sharp chill as divers climb from the dark waters surrounding Antikythera, a small Greek island where jagged cliffs rise abruptly above the waves. On the deck of a recovery ship, archaeologists gather around encrusted bronze fragments hauled from a Roman-era shipwreck. What at first looks like corroded debris soon reveals…

In the early months of 1788, two French ships lie at anchor in the calm waters of Botany Bay, their masts rising against a pale sky. The wooden hulls of La Boussole and L’Astrolabe creak softly as the tide shifts beneath them. Small boats move between ship and shore, carrying men, supplies, and written dispatches…