In New York, artifacts from the wreck of the legendary HMS Titanic are being auctioned off.
I was interested, obsessed even, with the Titanic as a kid. When I heard that artifacts were being removed from the wreck I was disturbed. Hearing that they’re being sold leaves a pit in my stomach.
The wreck of the Titanic is a gravesite, the resting place of 1,500 souls. It is a part of history, and taking artifacts from it for profit is tantamount to grave robbery. Exploring the wreck is a legitimate activity – trying to sell it off piece by piece is beyond the limits of propriety.
UPDATE: Blame CNN for this one. They transposed images from another story on an exhibition of Titanic artifacts on the story about the auction of materials related to, but not taken from, Titanic. My point about not selling these items still stands, but thankfully it isn’t being done. My apologies to the auctioneers for the unwarranted accusations of grave robbery.
Jay,
I saw a TV news spot on this yesterday (Fox I believe). The CNN article does not make it as clear but the bottom line is that the items being auctioned are NOT item salvaged from the wreck. They are items that were collected at the time of the wreck. I believe the news spot mentioned a law that was passed making it illegal to sell item actually salvaged from the wreck.
Hmmm… looks like CNN is changing their tune. When I saw the article it showed a five-pound note recovered from the wreck as one of the items being sold… now it’s gone. Perhaps a screw-up on their part?