Prior to our discovery last summer of the largest concentration of ancient Roman ships ever found in the deep sea, few people gave the deep ocean floor much thought when it came to ancient history. But, in fact, we are now learning that the deep sea may contain more history preserved in its dark cold depths than all the museums of the world combined.

Thanks to the oceanographic community and the U.S. Navy, no hidden corner of Davy Jones’s Locker is safe from the prying eyes of advanced remotely operated vehicles. Clearly, this technology has thrown open the doors of the deep, and the question now before us is, “Do we go through those doors to appreciate the wonders of ancient human history or do we enter them to plunder its riches?”

When we discovered the remains of the British luxury liner Titanic, never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that the day would come when coal from that mighty ship would be sold on the Internet or that “Love Boats” full of gamblers would circle the site as an attempt was made to raise a section of its hull. Yet, clearly that is what has happened.

Unfortunately, technology is amoral. You can use nuclear technology to heat our homes or destroy our world as we know it. It is up to society to determine which edge of the “technological blade” to use.

It is the absence of international law governing the discovery of ancient history that concerns me the most. If individuals were to relocate the Roman ships we discovered last summer and blow them up with bombs, there are no laws in the world to stop them since the present law of the sea only covers shipwreck sites up to a distance of 24 nautical miles (45 kilometers), while our discovery was made 70 nautical miles (130 kilometers) beyond the closest point of land.

It is critical that the United Nations include human history in the present Law of the Sea convention, which protects the rights of coastal nations to control what is happening off their shores to a distance of 200 nautical miles (370 kilometers). By adding a few words to the present treaty we can protect our heritage for future generations to enjoy and learn from.

The title collage is made from an image by the Institute for Exploration / Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

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