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Eva Eva
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July 06, 2006
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How do archaeologists justify excavating mummies or things from titanic?

Isn't taking mummies from their grave nd placing them in museums grave robbing and very disrespectful. The Titanic is the grave sight of many people and to take personal possessions from there just seems wrong. I was just wondering how this is justified.
  • 1 year ago

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I know there ar no mummies on titanic

1 year ago

sorry I phrased the question funny

1 year ago

johnboy by johnboy
Member since:
July 22, 2006
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"Sea graves" are often protected sites for sunken military vessels, but there are relatively few passenger deaths at sea so there isn't a real urgency for lawmakers to defend places like the Titanic. Otherwise, wrecks that aren't protected become the 'property' of their discoverers and may be looted to a degree.

In the case of mummies, most every tomb had been robbed completely by the time Europeans arrived. That's why Tutankhamen is somewhat famous - his tomb was buried underground and undiscovered by grave robbers until its rediscovery. It is disrespectful to remove dead people, but it can be justified by arguing that if archaeologists don't remove the mummies, vandals or grave robbers will move in and disrespect the mummies even more -- you can't defend thousands of graves throughout Egypt 24/7 forever.

edit: There are indeed grave sites in the ocean, at least according to the United Kingdom: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protection_…
  • 1 year ago
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Other Answers (3)

  • Lynn by Lynn
    Member since:
    June 07, 2007
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    13771 (Level 6)
    I hate to tell you there are no grave sites in the oceans. The bodies feed ocean life and their remains have moved about in ocean currents. If, by chance, there are some remains that can be found then they are suppose to identified and returned to the families. Salvage helps clean up the ocean floor. I mean if some one dies in a car accident, it gets cleaned up, not left as it is. Museums are suppose to be an honor for they save and preserve the past. There is knowledge to be learned and that is too important to be lost. Without these recovered things, many people would assume that people in the past were unintelligent beings but we know the truth that they may have been just the opposite.
    • 1 year ago
    0% 0 Votes
  • brother_in_magic by brother_...
    Member since:
    March 11, 2007
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    9304 (Level 5)
    There are no mummies on Titanic, and no bones from anyone on it are on public display.
    generally bones displayed in museums are from people so ancient there cannot be a definite,demonstrable connection with any living person (ie they may be our ancestors but over many generations in the past.)
    Actually with dna testing it is proved I had distant relatives (they shaed my haplogroup) living in a cave in Lichenstein in the bronze age. If they diplay their bones i don't have a problem with it.
    • 1 year ago
    0% 0 Votes
  • Kitsune by Kitsune
    Member since:
    January 01, 2008
    Total points:
    1301 (Level 3)
    The law says that no one is allowed to recover anything from Titanic. The only exception is to museums and a memorial must be left for those who lost their lives.

    Source(s):

    Titanic Historian
    • 1 year ago
    33% 1 Vote

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