7373SG: What was your first archaeological
experience?
NB: I did some voluntary work when
I was 22. It was an archaeological dig in
Apt, a French-Roman town in Vaucluse
in France. Being able to shine a light on
history has fascinated me. When I was
25, I had my first underwater find on a
Dutch shipwreck from 1659 off the coast
of Sri Lanka. There, right at the outflow
of a sewage works, between vases and
chicken’s feet, I found a blue and white
Chinese vase, intact. When I had it in my
hands I started to shake and was moved
to tears.
SG: Where else have you dived?
NB: In Mauritius on a French slave ship,
in Guam on the ruins of a Japanese
naval base from WWII, the Great Barrier
Reef in Australia. I have also been on
a quest for a canoe belonging to an
Indonesian tribe. In the end, I became an
archaeologist, diver and adventurer just
as I had planned. I also help to make 3D
films. They explain this forgotten history
lying at the bottom of our oceans.
LEFT AND TOP
Nicolas Bigourdan in
the field, diving on the
Great Barrier Reef to
uncover the history of
the French maritime
influence in Australia