Maritime history Robert F. Marx (December 8, 1936 – July 4, 2019)[1] was an American pioneer in scuba diving, a prolific author, and was best known for his work as an avocational marine archaeologist.

Although some accused him of treasure hunting, fellow avocational archeologist E. Lee Spence described Marx as the "true father of underwater archaeology".

[7] In 1972, Marx discovered and salvaged the Spanish galleon Nuestra Señora de las Maravillas, which wrecked off the coast of Grand Bahama in 1656.

According to Marx, "It’s likely the closest modern sailors had come to experiencing the conditions, the determination, and the incredible amount of luck that was needed to cross an ocean 500 years ago.

[14] Marx also helped write UNESCO legislation regarding shipwrecks, as he had interacted with local governments throughout his career in order to gain access to wrecks.

"[16][17] A review by Jonathan Kirsch in the Los Angeles Times concluded that "Quest" was a good yarn, but Marx tried hard to dress it up as something slightly scandalous.

In that sense, "Quest" was the archeological equivalent of Oliver Stone's JFK—Marx seeks to prove the existence of "great white gods" by offering us a haphazard collection of oddities, rumors and coincidences, but what's on display here is really nothing more than the passions and obsessions of a born showman.

Votan was a white man who with his crew of tall, fair-haired, blue eyed men in dragon-prowed "serpent ships" brought the Mayan people across the sea and settled them in their new land."

This claim originates in the mistaken translations by Diego de Landa who thought that Mayan glyphs were letters corresponding to the Roman alphabet.