Posted by divinotter on March 15, 2005 at 19:04:49:
In Reply to: At long last maybe the looting will stop... posted by dwill on March 15, 2005 at 17:04:10:
I can tell by the articles that these people had no intention of profit. There's a big difference between looting and preservation. I just learned from a speeker at my local club meeting that most kinds of metal will electrolisize (sp?) and disintegrate if left untraeted in salt water. He showed an example of a porthole (one of the 'looted' items mentioned in the article)that was left in the ocean and one from the same wreck that had been rescued and treated. You could barely tell the ubtreated one had been a porthole. Most of this stuff eventually finds it's way into museums. I think people who preserve history, especially like these guys who were trying to create a museum exhibit should be thanked and respected not slammed by people who just think- oh yeah, here's some guy 'looting' stuff off a boat- it's just another case of media facts- people think that if it's in the media it must be a fact- when everyone knows the media is usually wrong. We all know how pwoplw feel about sharks ans that they think us divers will be all eaten alive sooner or later- same with wreck divers- they're not all 'looters'.