Exploring the Deep

Oceans cover 71 percent of the earth, and a whopping 97 percent of these waters are beyond the reach of conventional scuba divers, who can reach only about 200 feet below the surface of the sea. The vast majority of the world’s shipwrecks, therefore, cannot be excavated or even found.

Until recently, that is. Archaeologists and marine explorers have now begun to use submarines and new robotic technology to conduct archaeological explorations of the deep waters of the open sea—and they are finding ancient shipwrecks.