On April 15, 1912, the Titanic sunk, not to be seen again until 1985. The large wreck would leave behind thousands of artifacts waiting to be analyzed and displayed. The opportunities were unparalleled, but technology had a long way to catch up. But underwater archaeology was still relatively new, and legalities of the wreck were undecided. With time though, legal procedures were worked out and technology advanced enough to fully handle the remains of the Titanic.
Primarily, underwater archaeology was still a developing practice when the Titanic was discovered. The specific techniques of the method began to emerge in the 1950’s with advances in deep sea technology. It wasn’t until 1960 that the first complete ship, a Bronze Age vessel at Cape …show more content…
The legalities of the site proved to be a large obstacle. The discovery of the Titanic wreck in 1985 raised one main question: what do we do with it? The site is in international waters giving no nation authority over the site and leaving it open to anyone to explore legally. So, one group did just this. The RMS Titanic, a private American company formed by investors, began diving at the site to retrieve artifacts and photograph the site for commercial gain in 1987. These controversial actions soon sparked the action of the US District Court in Norfolk, Virginia. This court had overseen the company’s actions for years. They limited the RMS Titanic’s artifact recovery to one section around the bow of the ship; they also ruled that the company must follow international standards for conservation, treatment, and display of the artifacts recovered. The legal battles still continued …show more content…
Newly invented AUV’s, autonomous underwater vehicles, and ROV’s, remotely operated vehicles, finally allowed for a bigger look at the wreck. Each of these vehicles contained sonars, digital cameras, and sensors. Archaeologists finally had the technology to look at a whole underwater site comprehensively. With the new resources and a multiagency collaboration, a new expedition set out to create a site map of the Titanic in 2010. Their data has provided a solid base from which to analyze the wreck.
Overall, analysis of the wreck of the Titanic took years to become fully realized. Legal procedures had to be worked out and technology advanced enough to fully handle the remains of the Titanic. But the results of the 2010 expedition have set the groundwork. Archaeologists now have a starting point with the site map. Artifacts can be more fully analyzed and catalogued, and more exploration completed. The Titanic holds the remains of a society that is no longer. There is much we can still learn from it now that we have the
Primarily, underwater archaeology was still a developing practice when the Titanic was discovered. The specific techniques of the method began to emerge in the 1950’s with advances in deep sea technology. It wasn’t until 1960 that the first complete ship, a Bronze Age vessel at Cape …show more content…
The legalities of the site proved to be a large obstacle. The discovery of the Titanic wreck in 1985 raised one main question: what do we do with it? The site is in international waters giving no nation authority over the site and leaving it open to anyone to explore legally. So, one group did just this. The RMS Titanic, a private American company formed by investors, began diving at the site to retrieve artifacts and photograph the site for commercial gain in 1987. These controversial actions soon sparked the action of the US District Court in Norfolk, Virginia. This court had overseen the company’s actions for years. They limited the RMS Titanic’s artifact recovery to one section around the bow of the ship; they also ruled that the company must follow international standards for conservation, treatment, and display of the artifacts recovered. The legal battles still continued …show more content…
Newly invented AUV’s, autonomous underwater vehicles, and ROV’s, remotely operated vehicles, finally allowed for a bigger look at the wreck. Each of these vehicles contained sonars, digital cameras, and sensors. Archaeologists finally had the technology to look at a whole underwater site comprehensively. With the new resources and a multiagency collaboration, a new expedition set out to create a site map of the Titanic in 2010. Their data has provided a solid base from which to analyze the wreck.
Overall, analysis of the wreck of the Titanic took years to become fully realized. Legal procedures had to be worked out and technology advanced enough to fully handle the remains of the Titanic. But the results of the 2010 expedition have set the groundwork. Archaeologists now have a starting point with the site map. Artifacts can be more fully analyzed and catalogued, and more exploration completed. The Titanic holds the remains of a society that is no longer. There is much we can still learn from it now that we have the