Should shipwreck sites be declared burial grounds in honor to lives lost or should only marine archaeologists be allowed to salvage artifacts from these sites?

Answer 1

I think that it would be nice if you found human remains that you would have to call in someone like a marine archaeologist to take a look, which is similar to the procedure you have to go through if you find something like that on land. Then they could gather any remains and bury them or whatever before allowing further work to continue. That seems like it would cause delays and costs, but at least it wouldn't permanently stop people from working.

Declaring all shipwrecks burial sites automatically seems like it would get in the way of lots of other things, like people who are engaged in salvage or even in trying to clean up ocean pollution. Additionally, you encounter massive complications trying to make any rules in international waters, because no specific country's rules apply.

Answer 2

As Europeans and their colonial followers have had a long history of digging up the burial sites of many non-white civilizations, these are burial sites not just places people died like a shipwreck, we have no supportable moral ground for being especially "sensitive" about shipwreck sites.

The reason seems to be that the sites, bodies and artifacts of "our" dead are somehow more important than those of nameless primitives and foreigners.

Answer 3

Shipwreck sites should be declared burial grounds in honor of the lives lost. It is important to respect the final resting place of those who perished in the tragedy. Salvaging artifacts should be done by trained marine archaeologists to preserve the historical significance of the site.