While a large swath of America will follow the adventures of everyone's favorite fedora-wearing tomb hunter in air-conditioned cineplexes Thursday, fellow Indy fan James Delgado will be unearthing long-buried secrets of Kublai Khan, the last of the Mongolian emperors.

The College Station resident is not an action hero. He's an archaeologist. A real one.

Sometimes, though, the lines between adventurer and academic can be blurred. Delgado may not carry a bullwhip, but he has had guns drawn on him, he's been trapped in the wreckage of a World War II-era ship, and he once had to punch a shark in the nose.

Delgado's current expedition in Vietnam is just the latest in his 32 years of archaeological experience.

The 1978 discovery of a sunken 19th century ship in downtown San Francisco inspired him to focus his studies on maritime archaeology. Today, Delgado is the president of the Institute of Nautical Archaeology, a locally based organization with close ties to Texas A&M's archaeology program.

During Delgado's career, he has explored several ships, including the USS Arizona and the sunken vessels that were used in the world's first nuclear tests. He's also served as co-host of the National Geographic television show The Sea Hunters.

During his time in the field, Delgado has seen and done it all, including having several brushes with Indiana Jones-esque danger.

"I've never been shot at, but I've certainly been around a lot of guns," he said. "In Panama, some security guards pulled their guns on us because they weren't so sure that we weren't bad people. When you're in archaeology and you're working and traveling all over the world, there is going to be some element of risk -- a lot of close encounters."

Delgado's greatest hits of close encounters include the time he was almost buried in a World War II wreck.

"I was on the USS Saratoga when something caved in," he recalled. "We had to feel our way down a long corridor, slowly moving our way up to the exit, orienting ourselves so we were able to get out of the hatch. We got out, of course, but had Steven Spielberg been directing my life, you know we would have encountered a shark as we were about to exit."

While Delgado didn't encounter a shark that time, he has come face to face -- or fist to nose -- with the toothiest ocean predator.

"I was swimming near a wreck and a shark came too close to me. He thought I wanted his fish so I had to bop him on the nose to get him away from us."

Delgado recounts these experiences with a dry detachment, his voice only hinting at the thrill most people would feel if put in similar situations. It's when he describes the real appeal of archaeology that his voice becomes more animated.

"A lot of the excitement comes from the find itself," he said. "Unlike in the movies, there isn't always going to be one big 'aha' moment. Your finds are going to come from the results of years worth of work. It's not always going to be big discoveries either; sometimes it's just adding a little bit to the history books."

While Delgado is a fan of the Indiana Jones movies, he does note the false impression they've given a lot of folks about his career.

"The biggest misconception people have about archaeologists is that we're focused on the glittery stuff," he said. "The real treasure is linking to the real life stories of people."

For Delgado, the treat is sharing his work with everyday people, getting them excited about the past -- something that he feels the Indiana Jones movies have done in spades.

"Indiana Jones is an iconic figure," Delgado said. "He's more then an archaeologist. He's an action hero."

• Robert Saucedo's e-mail address is robsaucedo2500@yahoo.com.

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