Have you ever looked at photographs of underwater ruins and been fascinated? If so, I am bewildered as I reside in the terrified camp.
Even looking at photographs of the Titanic ruins sends me into a state of paralysis as I too feel suffocated beneath the sea. It has always unnerved me that the ship along with plates and shoes of passengers never to return are still at the bottom of the North Atlantic since its sinking in 1912. An eerie reminder of how the past cannot be completely eradicated.
In 1998, Salvage company RMS Titanic Inc. raised more than 5,000 artefacts and the 20-ton section of the hull. This raised many protests among survivors and relatives of those sunk with the Titanic. They insisted that the ship is “a sea grave and should be left alone.”
It seems morally wrong to dig up remnants of a shipwreck such as the Titanic for the sake of morbid curiosity. Either bring the whole wreck up, or let it rest in peace. It would be terrible if all that remained of the Titanic’s wreckage was a heap of rubble at the ocean floor. The sea grave would essentially be dismantled, so it is not surprising that it sparked many protests after sections were hauled to the surface.
Although, I can appreciate that visiting underwater ruins such as the ancient city Baia in Italy quenches historians’ thirst for uncovering truth about past civilisations. But is it always appropriate to strip the seabed bare of remnants of our past?
To salvage or not to salvage, that is the question. I firmly believe that if bodies are among the ruins, everything should be left in peace as a grave. But, if it is a city which has been abandoned before being consumed by water, it would be interesting to salvage.
Rising sea levels are putting cities such as Venice, Miami and Shanghai at risk which is a troubling thought. Will future generations be having conversations about whether to salvage these cities?
While underwater ruins allow open access into the past, they are ghostly reminders of how life used to be. How would we feel if Big Ben, the Notre-Dame or the Statue of Liberty were buried beneath the sea, out of sight and bereft of life and activity? Mortified I should think.
Essentially, when something which housed life has sunk, it has died and remains haunted in its lifeless state.
Though, it cannot be disputed that there is something quite magical about ruins being lived in by marine life. Their ignorance to places of historic and cultural importance is humbling.
So perhaps it’s better to pass the baton to marine life once cities have sunk, so they can be the new residents of our former cities rather than us trying to salvage every aspect of our past. Once it’s gone it’s gone, so let it rest without more meddling at the hands of humans.
Watch VIDEO: Trippy Underwater World Comes From Matthew Villegas Free Dives Into Frozen Lake to see more underwater ruins.
