The Cairo Jim Chronicles Series by Geoffrey McSkimming

The most flabbergasting adventure yet! A seemingly ordinary vase is stolen from the Greek Archaeological Museum by a figure swathed in mystery. The vase - an ancient alabastron - holds a potent force that must not be allowed to escape! It is up to Cairo Jim (that well-known archaeologist and little-known poet) and friends to track down the thief, before the alabastron's mysterious contents are unleashed upon the modern world...

"High in the crater of an extinct, jungle-covered volcano in Sumatra, a legendary ancient palace is thought to exist. What astounding secret does this palace harbour? Where is the missing Turkish Women's Olympic Championship Tent Erection Team? What has the Glamourdust Glove and Cusset Company got to do with it? Will Cairo Jim ... discover the amazing truth?" -- back cover.

A priceless artefact has gone missing in Rome - the imperishable bauble of the ancient Emperor Tiberius. Can Cairo Jim, well-known archaeologist and little-known poet, get to the bottom of things before it's too late?

At the ruins of the ancient Palace of Knossos in Crete, strange toxic gases are forcing visitors to abandon the site. Where are these foul-smelling emissions coming from and what mythical secret lies beneath the ruins?