Remains

[paul.mercer]

Gentlemen,
A rather grusome subject I'm afraid, but how is it that expeditions to wrecks sunk two or three hundred years ago often contain human remains in the shape of skulls and bones but more modern wrecks Hood, Bismarck etc) show no signs of any remains - is it because of the depth that they are at?

[frontkampfer]

I've often wondered about that as well. Why are skeletal remains found in warm climates such as Truk Lagoon but not in the North Atlantic? Yet, just the other day a body of a diver who drowned in Lake Michigan 13 years ago was recently found still in his wet suit. Does the cold water in the Great Lakes preserve organic matter better than the North Atlantic? If so how does that square with Truk? Could it be purely do to the organisms found in the NA but not elsewhere? Quite a puzzle!

[tommy303]

Human remains have been found in Vasa, Mary Rose, a number of U-boats sunk in American waters, and the aforementioned remains from ships in Truk lagoon--most of these have been discovered inside the ships during salvage operations or by sports divers exploring wrecks. Bodies which settled on the bottom have largely disappeared due to scavengers and abrasive action of sometimes quite strong bottom currents. I suspect, if one were to explore inside the Titanic or the Bismarck, one would eventually come across remains. The Great Lakes, being very deep and very cold, with sluggish currents compared to the ocean, and being fresh water, appear to much kinder to artifacts and remains than the oceans.

[Byron Angel]

Ballard actually found a human bone in the debris field dated (IIRC) to 700BC in the deep anoxic waters off the Black Sea coast of Turkey.

B