Mensun Bound

Born in the Falkland Islands, Mensun Bound was the Triton Fellow in Maritime Archaeology at St Peter’s College, Oxford, and the director of the first academic unit for underwater archaeology in England. Known as the "Indiana Jones of the Deep", Bound has conducted wreck surveys and excavations all over the world in a career that spanned 40 years. 

During that time he excavated one of the oldest known shipwrecks (600 BC) and, in 1997, he used saturation diving methods to carry out the deepest shipwreck excavation there has ever been.  Twelve museums around the globe hold permanent displays of artefacts raised by Bound. His work has been the focus of numerous documentaries including a 4-part series by the Discovery Channel entitled ‘Lost Ships’.  In 2019 Bound stunned the world with his discovery of Admiral von Spee’s  flagship, Scharnhorst which had been lost in battle during World War One.  That same year Bound was Director of Exploration for the fist search to find Shackleton’s Endurance which ended in disaster when their Remote Operated Vehicle (ROV) imploded from pressure and their principal search vehicle, a Hugin-class Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) disappeared without trace.  In 2022 the search resumed under the auspices of the Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust with Bound in the same role.  On 5 March the Endurance was found and, as predicted by Bound, it was upright, largely intact, proud of the seabed and in an excellent state of preservation.

My Upcoming Expeditions:

Antartica, South Georgia and the Falklands

October 30, 2025-November 20, 2025