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Ballard

“Never in my wildest dreams....” That expresses deep-sea pioneer Robert D. Ballard’s negative reaction to the parade of artifacts being hauled up from the tragic wreck of the Titanic. Ballard’s recent discovery of the largest concentration of ancient Roman ships ever found in deep water has made more and more people realize the potential riches that rest on the seafloor. Some feel that removing items from shipwrecks should not be allowed, yet others cannot wait to see these artifacts from the ocean floor. Is there a difference if artifacts go to a museum or to someone’s private collection? What sort of laws are needed to protect ancient shipwrecks from plunder?

Read Dr. Ballard’s essay “To Appreciate or To Plunder?” then join our forum and offer us your opinion.

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


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