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I know what you're saying. That is a very respectful way of honoring a wreck. And the treasure hunting that goes on in shipwrecks usually seems like well-financ

I know what you're saying. That is a very respectful way of honoring a wreck. And the treasure hunting that goes on in shipwrecks usually seems like well-financed looting. At the same time, in 50 years when most of Titanic has been consumed by metal-eating bacteria, we'll regret not doing more to preserve it. And preserving it means bringing items to the surface. The environment down there is going to degrade everything until it's a pile of rubble. Is that a superior remembrance or tribute? I can see why people would disagree, but for me I'd prefer to have stuff in a museum. Put together a group of curators and descendants and hash out a plan for what level of recovery and how it would be exhibited. It's a huge ship, you could bring back several room's worth and still leave the vast majority of it undisturbed as the tomb it is.

catalogia 6y ago
Thousands of artifacts have already been looted from the Titanic wreck. Another commenter brings up the excavation/looting of ancient Egyptian tombs, which seems oddly fitting since the Luxor casino in Las Vegas (the ancient Egypt themed one) has hundreds of artifacts from the Titanic, and there are many more elsewhere as well. How much is enough? Will the looting continue until nothing is left? What is wrong with letting the rest of it rust away in dignity, rather than being gawked at by bored gamblers? With respect to the excavation/looting of Egyptian tombs, I consider this somewhat distasteful too, but at least in that case it provides unique opportunities to learn about a distant largely forgotten culture. The rediscovery of the Rosetta stone facilitated the decipherment of hieroglyphics, and it's my impression that King Tutankhamun's tomb revealed much about ancient Egyptian society and technology (I'm not sure what exactly, it's not something I've read up on.) The people involved in those cases may have been cynical profit-seekers too, but at least the artifacts they removed actually taught us things about the past. I don't think there is much to learn from the telegraph from the Titanic though; I expect there are probably extant examples of contemporary radio technology in better condition in museums already.

catalogia 6y ago

Thousands of artifacts have already been looted from the Titanic wreck. Another commenter brings up the excavation/looting of ancient Egyptian tombs, which seems oddly fitting since the Luxor casino in Las Vegas (the ancient Egypt themed one) has hundreds of artifacts from the Titanic, and there are many more elsewhere as well. How much is enough? Will the looting continue until nothing is left? What is wrong with letting the rest of it rust away in dignity, rather than being gawked at by bored gamblers? With respect to the excavation/looting of Egyptian tombs, I consider this somewhat distasteful too, but at least in that case it provides unique opportunities to learn about a distant largely forgotten culture. The rediscovery of the Rosetta stone facilitated the decipherment of hieroglyphics, and it's my impression that King Tutankhamun's tomb revealed much about ancient Egyptian society and technology (I'm not sure what exactly, it's not something I've read up on.) The people involved in those cases may have been cynical profit-seekers too, but at least the artifacts they removed actually taught us things about the past. I don't think there is much to learn from the telegraph from the Titanic though; I expect there are probably extant examples of contemporary radio technology in better condition in museums already.