Remains

[Aidan Bowe]

On dives to the wreck site have any human remains been discovered? I know on Titanic most remains have now dissolved but on other wrecks (Empress of Ireland) etc..clear remains have been found. Not sure if this topic has been raised before? Thanks

 

[Aidan Bowe]

Doh! Ignore above! Just rediscovered my original post from back in 2005

 

[Michael H. Standart]

>>Not sure if this topic has been raised before?<<

Quite a few times and not just for the Lusitania. It's really not a bad question either since human remains are frequently found on some very old shipwrecks. I know of bones that were found on the Vasa and this ship sank in 1628. The people who were looking for the Carpathia found remains on the shipwreck that they found before the Carpathia and if I recall correctly, on the Carpathia as well.

When you get down to it, how long any remains survive depend on the local conditions. Titanic's wrecksite for example, is slightly acidic and calcium poor. That's why any bones that may have been there have long since dissolved. The same conditions don't exist elsewhere.

 

[George L. Lorton]

Hello Michael,

I think this topic was raised before in a different Shipwreck Topic Thread. The Empress Of Ireland Thread perhaps because I remember asking in my youthful naivete or somebody else asking why there were remains on the Empress and not on Titanic and you giving the same answer or Jason Tiller giving the answer you gave now. I definitely remember it though. It is a good topic for discussion though. I believe in one of the Dr. Charles Pellegrino threads there was talk of remains of a Chicken being found on Titanic but I never checked back to see how that was resolved.