Jaybee2
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Shipwrecks & Human Remains
Human Remains.
Many have asked about human remains on the Titanic, I would Like you to read the following as I have also been interested in this subject,and have gone into it at some great length and spent some time consuming hours.It is without doubt that one of the most difficult issues in undersea archaeology that of human remains. Not only does their presence remind us of our own morality, but there is no agreed method to address sensitve issues in which scientific, cultural and religious values must be considered and recociled. The range of shipwrecks that may contain human remains spans centuries, encompasses diverse cultural and ethnic groups, is scattered around the globe in a variety of enviroments and results from many circumstances.
The earliest human remains discovered to date come from a Roman Cargo ship sunk off Spargi in the 1st century BC. Protected by the deep cold water and the helm of amphora-carrier, a skull was excavated from the site in 1961.Ten centuries later, two Arab ships that sank off Cannes preserved the remains of three more individuals. Excavated in the 1970's the hull of the 7.5 to 9.1 m long Camp-Long shipwreck contained a male skeleton with his sword and cutlass-sheath. The second shipwreck, off Sainte-Margurite Island, contained two more incomplete male skeletons. These examples suggest that human remains on even the most ancient shipwrecks should not be discounted.
Warships may be the greatest single source of wrecks that contain human remains. In 1545, while in the midst of battle, Henry VIII's Mary Rose plunged to the bottom of Portsmouth Harbour drowning seven hundred seamen and soldiers. The remains of archers, pikemen, gunners, crushed beneath cannons or trapped below decks, were exhumed during excavations in the 1970's.Eighty five years after the Portsmouth disaster, the heavily armed ship Vasa, considered the epitome of 17th century swedish design, proved so unstable it capsized and sank. The cold water and mud not only preserved the ship, but the remains of its crewmen and their wives.
The North American War of 1812 saw the loss of schooners Hamilton & Scourge on lake Ontario. On the night of 8th August 1813, during a break in the battle between American and a Canadian- British squadron a sudden fierce squall roared across the lake capsizing both schooners,Fifty three men drowned in the combined disaster. The discovery of the ships and later photographic documentation in 1982 revealed human remains scattered across the lake bottom.
Perhaps the largest single group of shipwrecks that clearly contain human remains are from World war II. More than eleven hundred men remain entombed in the battleships USS Arizona(on which I have already posted in Wrecks forum)and Utah. The battles of Truk Laggon, Guadalcanal, Leyte Gulf, Palau, Midway, and submarine attacks in the North Atlantic and Pacific resulted in heavy loses.The sailors whether in military or in non-military convoys, hailed from America, Canada, the British Isles,Germany and Japan, the baltic and Pacific rim.Scuba divers and remotely operated vehicles exploring these shipwrecks have regularly encountered human remains. Submarines like the German U-352 sunk off North Caroliner coast in 1942, efficiently trapped their crews who were to be found 40 years later near their battle stations.
Horrific accidents at sea resulting from squalls, hurricanes, icebergs and collisions have claimed many thousands of ships. During the era of the New world exploration, hurricanes destroyed whole fleets of treasure laden ships. One such fleet left Havana in 1733, among them the galleon St Jose, although salvaged in antiquity, its location was forgotten until 1968 when excavations on site uncovered a human skull in the floor timbers.
The North American Great Lakes have claimed their share of accidents, including " Kamloops " sunk in 1927, the " Emperor " wrecked in 1947. Both ships, like "Edmund Fitzgerald, sank during blizzards on the lakes. Twelver crew members from Kamloops are reported to be trapped in the stern while an unknown number remain on Emperor. The one crewman recovered from Emperor in 1976 was reported to be clothed and in remarkably good condition after twenty nine years immersion. The fate of the crew on Edmund Fitzgerald remains unknown
There are also many disasters where the presence of human remains is suspected. In 1912, more that fifteen hundred people were lost in the Titanic disaster. To date, there has been only very limited examination of the ships interior due to its extreme depth and a world wide call to treat the site as a memorial. But as one can see from reports of human remains found on other ships, it is not beyond the realms of possibility that there are human remains inside Titanic.
Likewise the British owned passenger ship Lusitania was struck by a torpedo in May 1915 nearly twelve hundred people drowned.Although the wreck was surveyed, no effort has been made to examine carefully the dangerous interiors.
There are numerous recent accidents where human remains are known to exist, including the famous submarines Thresher,(1963) and Scorpion (1968). In these and other cases, the decision was made to leave individuals entombed. While it is easier to remain dispassionate about human remains from our remote past, their discovery on ships lost in this century is another matter. The issues raised by human remains on sites at or near the fifty year cutoff for archaological designation are numerous. As our ability to discover and excavate deep water shipwrecks increases, so does the likelihood of finding human remains. These discoveries will challenge our ability to balance and research and reverence for the deceased.
Note; in compiling this I would Like to thank: Kenneth Swancombe for countless emails, and Likewise Charles Hollbridge and Simon Barlow.
With out who's help I would still be searching for answers to my questions.
Secondary Source, Encyclopedia of Underwater Archaeolgy
I hope for those of you with the morbid curiosity about human remains you found it interestng.
Regards John
--- Interested in Maritime subjects, Visit:: Chat Titanic
http://www.freewebs.com/maritime-history-one/ |
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Feb/15/2007, 4:20 pm
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wolfldy1877
former crew member
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Registered: 09-2006
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Re: Shipwrecks & Human Remains
Greetings,
It is a great article, although it seems likely there are human remains down at the wreck site in inaccessible areas. Thanks for listening. TTYL, Laters.
From,
Robert
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"A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for."
-- William Shedd
"Live the journey, for every destination is but a doorway to another." From Masters of the Universe
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Feb/27/2007, 11:53 pm
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