The Titanic sank on its maiden voyage. Credit: Bettmann/Getty
RMS Titanic sank on April 15, 1912, on its maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York, USA, after it hit an iceberg.
Over the years, expeditions have recovered artifacts from the wreckage, which lies over 12,000 feet below sea level, since it was found on September 1, 1985, after decades of searching.
It was discovered that the Titanic had split apart, likely near the surface of the water, before sinking to the seabed, and the bow of the ship had remained more intact, containing interiors which remained surprisingly intact.
However, very few of the bodies of the people who went down with the ship in the disaster have ever been recovered, despite pairs of shoes and boots being found in the debris field.
No human remains were recovered from inside the remainder of the Titanic’s shell, either – so what happened to all the victims?
Well, the reason for this lies in the fact that the wreckage came to rest 12,000 feet down in the Atlantic Ocean.
Only the shoes of those who went down with the Titanic have remained. Credit: Oli Scarff/Getty Images
Another reason there are no skeletons visible in the debris field is down to the chemical composition of the seawater, which changes the deeper you descend.
Robert Ballard, one of the deep sea explorers who first discovered the wreck in 1985, explained that below certain depths, the water is actually capable of dissolving bones.
“For example, on the Titanic and on the Bismarck, those ships are below the calcium carbonate compensation depth, so once the critters eat their flesh and expose the bones, the bones dissolve.
“Now in the Black Sea, because there are no critters to eat, the bones should not be exposed. So you should have perfectly mummified fossils.”
People shared their thoughts on the matter on Reddit, writing: “that is horrifying,” and: “This is so eerie to think about…”
One commenter wrote: “Whoa, nightmarish. Real stuff usually is, tho,” while another added: “Okay, well, that’s terrifying.”
Since the wreckage was initially discovered, it has been revisited on numerous occasions by explorers and scientists, with many of the items found in the debris field having been recovered for conservation and public display.
Thousands of artifacts have been recovered from the wreckage over the years. Credit: Brittany Murray/MediaNews Group/Long Beach Press-Telegram via Getty Images
In 2006, scientists estimated that within 50 years the hull and structure of Titanic would eventually collapse entirely, leaving just the more resilient interior fittings among a pile of rust on the sea floor.
Last year, one mission to take tourists to visit the famous wreckage ended in disaster.
The Titan submersible, created by OceanGate, imploded during its descent to the wreckage, claiming the lives of all six men on board, including the company’s CEO, Stockton Rush, who’d been piloting the sub.
