Many people assume Amy Borgens’ job is full of action and intrigue—she’s heard her share of Indiana Jones references. But unlike the world’s most famous on-screen archeologist, the state’s only marine archeologist is not running around with a bullwhip and outsmarting Nazis in search of a stolen idol. “It’s not Raiders of the Lost Ark,” says Borgens, who is employed by the Texas Historical Commission.
While Borgens keeps her finds top secret, she was willing to invite me to her quiet, landlocked office in East Austin. Her desk is decorated with a Wonder Woman figurine and a skull and crossbones coaster. There are model ships, ship bookends, and paintings of vessels thrashing in the ocean. There is also a wall of tall; ; and . All those books and nearly three decades of experience have made Borgens a revered figure on preserving, documenting, and caring for artifacts found in Texas waters.
