National Geographic Treasures of the Deep

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00:00:11 Thousands of feet beneath the seven seas
00:00:14 lies the history of the world buried
00:00:25 It is a realm of precious artifacts
00:00:28 A world of ancient mysteries long
00:00:34 Until today.
00:00:39 Now the sunken marvels
00:00:44 from ancient Roman ships to
00:00:47 to luxury liners like the Titanic.
00:00:54 I dream about gold and
00:00:56 And you gotta believe it's there
00:01:05 Some people are out to plunder the past.
00:01:09 While others archeologists
00:01:12 like the man who first found
00:01:19 They are all armed with million-dollar
00:01:22 and the will to spend years
00:01:27 Just running out on a boat
00:01:29 and hoping to jump over the side and
00:01:33 that's stuff of fantasy and Hollywood.
00:01:41 It is a world where controversy reigns
00:01:44 where there are confusing laws
00:01:47 Does anyone have a right
00:01:51 Should the past be protected?
00:01:53 Or should it be picked clean for profit?
00:01:59 So it's a very big difference
00:02:03 fill in a missing chapter
00:02:08 and doing it for personal greed.
00:02:13 Explorers and archeologists.
00:02:15 Entrepreneurs and salvagers.
00:02:19 Some will risk everything
00:02:22 reputation, fortune, even their lives
00:02:25 to possess the treasures of the deep.
00:03:16 The Mediterranean Sea.
00:03:20 On its shores grew the great
00:03:28 And from its banks,
00:03:29 ancient peoples sailed beyond the
00:03:39 For hundreds of years,
00:03:43 creating a vast empire.
00:03:49 But the moods of the sea are harsh
00:03:52 and a Roman vessel 100 feet long
00:03:55 had no defenses against storm
00:04:10 Over the centuries,
00:04:13 and countless sailors killed.
00:04:21 Now the man who discovered the Titanic
00:04:23 Dr. Robert Ballard,
00:04:27 ancient shipwrecks in the Mediterranean.
00:04:34 For hundreds of years,
00:04:35 scientists have looked
00:04:39 And for most of that time
00:04:41 they've only been able to
00:04:45 of one or 200 feet,
00:04:46 which represents an insignificant
00:04:50 And what we're trying to accomplish is
00:04:53 and this is to try to excavate a ship
00:04:57 that is thousands of feet
00:05:04 To bring up ancient vessels
00:05:09 It's never been done before
00:05:11 and Ballard only has five short weeks
00:05:17 You know, it's ironic that we have
00:05:21 and we've mapped the far side of Venus
00:05:24 in fact, that we know more about
00:05:31 To make the impossible happen
00:05:33 Ballard will need a floating
00:05:42 The Carolyn Chouest, a U.S. Navy vessel,
00:05:45 will journey 80 miles west of Sicily
00:05:50 where no one has a claim on lost vessels.
00:06:07 Ballard believes the Mediterranean
00:06:11 and he has long dreamed of finding one
00:06:16 We're sitting right now in ruins
00:06:20 To get to Rome you have to cross
00:06:24 to get to Carthage you have to cross
00:06:27 To travel from civilization to
00:06:31 you must cross the Mediterranean,
00:06:34 and many of those ships didn't make it
00:06:37 Many of those ships went to the bottom
00:06:39 and many of them went into the deep sea.
00:06:42 Between ancient Carthage and Rome,
00:06:44 it's 12,000 feet deep.
00:06:47 And no one has ever gone to the bottom
00:06:50 to look for those ships that sank
00:06:58 It was a decade ago when Ballard
00:07:02 first surveyed an
00:07:06 called Skerki Bank.
00:07:11 In 1988, he made a startling discovery
00:07:17 the remains of an ancient Roman ship
00:07:31 The find confirmed,
00:07:34 that an ancient trade route
00:07:38 from Carthage in North Africa to Rome.
00:07:45 Now Ballard has returned to Skerki Bank,
00:07:48 where he'll attempt to excavate
00:07:55 Working in close collaboration
00:07:58 Ballard hopes to uncover something
00:08:04 My greatest dream is that these ships
00:08:09 and that their cargo in preserved and,
00:08:12 and who knows, maybe there's people
00:08:15 I'm not sure I want to find people,
00:08:18 but it would be fascinating.
00:08:22 We won't know until we dig them.
00:08:29 Could there really be the remains
00:08:32 at the bottom of the Mediterranean?
00:08:35 It is an extraordinary idea,
00:08:39 and to find out Ballard will use
00:08:44 The NR-1.
00:08:53 It is capable of going
00:08:58 and staying there for a month.
00:09:06 Built during the clashes of the Cold war,
00:09:09 the NR-1 was a crucial weapon in
00:09:15 designed to search the ocean depths
00:09:19 It's the best in the world, outfitted
00:09:25 and a mechanical arm for digging,
00:09:27 all of it powered by a nuclear reactor
00:09:30 which won't need to be
00:09:41 Even now, its sonar equipment
00:09:44 so sophisticated NR-1 can find a soda
00:09:53 The NR-1 is a marvel,
00:09:56 The 11-man crew shares one bolted-down
00:10:01 just big enough for two people at a time.
00:10:08 For this mission,
00:10:09 Ballard has added something brand new
00:10:14 a powerful suction pump
00:10:22 Ballard believes the seafloor
00:10:26 ready to reveal whatever
00:10:33 What is actually down there?
00:10:36 Will Ballard find the timbers
00:10:40 and the bones of the men
00:10:54 Sunken treasure.
00:10:56 It has drawn people into the seas
00:10:58 since the first cargo ship apart
00:11:07 Relics, gold, gems, pieces of eight
00:11:12 it is the stuff that countless dreams
00:11:24 Obsessed with the promise of riches,
00:11:26 undersea treasure hunters today
00:11:31 crowding serious archeologists.
00:11:37 The king of the undersea dreamers
00:11:41 is a stubborn rebel name Mel Fisher.
00:11:47 In his quest for treasure,
00:11:51 and came to be known as a swashbuckler
00:12:00 In 1997, family and friends joined
00:12:04 to mark the spot where
00:12:10 The reason we picked today
00:12:12 It's Mel Fisher's 75th birthday.
00:12:18 Here, here.
00:12:19 Long live the king. Long live the king
00:12:22 But the plaque and let me
00:12:26 You notice we have a picture
00:12:32 In sincere appreciation to Mel
00:12:35 and Deo Fisher
00:12:38 in accomplishing
00:12:43 They've followed their dream.
00:12:49 In the 1960s,
00:12:54 Often short of money and deep in dept,
00:12:57 he hunts the shallow waters off coast
00:13:05 He is determined to find
00:13:09 a Spanish galleon that had sunk
00:13:14 reportedly carrying king's ransom
00:13:22 Year after year, with the help
00:13:25 Fisher combs the Florida sea.
00:13:34 Until 1975, when his son, Dirk,
00:13:38 finds the first real evidence
00:14:00 Just a week later,
00:14:02 while returning to the site
00:14:04 Dirk Fisher's boat capsizes
00:14:11 Dirk, his wife,
00:14:26 Fisher is devastated.
00:14:27 But he vows to continue
00:14:34 The Atocha seems so close.
00:14:39 But she continues to elude Fisher,
00:14:50 Then in 1985, in 60 feet of water,
00:14:57 the mother lode of all treasure ships.
00:15:02 It's worth 400 million dollars so far.
00:15:05 And today,
00:15:06 Mel Fisher is counting the riches
00:15:11 So right over here about
00:15:13 is all the kings taxes for five years,
00:15:17 all the church collection money from
00:15:20 in this hemisphere for five years,
00:15:23 all the wealthy merchants,
00:15:27 all their lifesavings for 10
00:15:33 They were gonna go home and retire.
00:15:36 They didn't make it.
00:15:37 So there's probably another four
00:15:46 Today, aging and ailing,
00:15:48 Mel Fisher is still bringing up treasure.
00:15:51 These days, it is emeralds.
00:15:55 His passion for treasure
00:15:58 to his youngest son, Kane Fisher.
00:16:01 Is there more come from their cursor
00:16:03 and they want our men for this
00:16:07 When we found that... ah... we found that
00:16:09 court martial referee
00:16:11 I got one...
00:16:24 Here me go. that ahold a half carat
00:16:30 that about 3000.a carat 6000
00:16:40 You got to be real persistent
00:16:44 And you got to believe it's there.
00:16:46 And you got to want it bad.
00:16:48 If you want it bad enough, you'll get it.
00:16:51 You just got to keep looking
00:16:55 I dream about gold
00:16:58 And you'll never know what's
00:17:03 That's what keeps it exciting.
00:17:07 The Atocha puzzle still isn't solved.
00:17:11 I don't know
00:17:14 And you just keep going and going.
00:17:15 It seems like you
00:17:20 We've been working those wrecks
00:17:24 and still finding stuff.
00:17:26 It's exciting.
00:17:31 Today, Mel Fisher is big business,
00:17:38 But a swashbuckler makes enemies,
00:17:42 Charging that Fisher has
00:17:45 with his salvaging techniques,
00:17:47 the federal government has dragged him
00:17:50 And Fisher's had to pay hundreds
00:17:54 But Fisher knows how to change
00:17:57 Conservator Sid Jones,
00:17:59 who worked extensively
00:18:02 acknowledges the need to protect history.
00:18:05 In the past treasure hunting,
00:18:08 back in the '60s or the '50s
00:18:13 there wasn't much
00:18:16 or preserving the artifacts.
00:18:18 Of course, there was a large emphasis
00:18:21 but we've learned in time
00:18:22 that every artifact that comes
00:18:26 Once you understand the complete picture,
00:18:28 the items not only have a monetary value,
00:18:32 but they have a historical value as well,
00:18:34 which didn't always exist in
00:18:42 After finding and
00:18:46 Fisher sells most of it off
00:18:52 Fisher believes that two billion more
00:19:09 Deep in the Mediterranean,
00:19:11 the NR-1 is still hunting for
00:19:20 After three weeks of trying,
00:19:21 the sub and its robot arm
00:19:23 have been unable
00:19:26 which unexpectedly turns out to be
00:19:37 Ballard's master plan
00:19:43 Do the wooden hulls of the Roman
00:19:48 Or has time stolen them away.
00:19:51 Ballard wonders if he'll ever find them.
00:19:55 The deep sea is always surprising me.
00:19:59 I every time I think I understand it,
00:20:01 it throws me another curve ball.
00:20:03 But that's okay. That's part of it.
00:20:05 I think it wouldn't be fun
00:20:11 and it wasn't full of surprises.
00:20:18 Ballard decides to change
00:20:22 He sends the sub out to do
00:20:25 to act as a high-tech bloodhound,
00:20:28 to roam over Skerki Bank
00:20:32 with its exceptional sonar senses.
00:20:36 Sir, request permission to rig ship
00:20:38 Rig ship for deep submerges.
00:20:39 Rig ship for deep submerges, aye sir.
00:20:42 Rig ship for deep submerges.
00:20:46 Will the NR-1 discover the unknown,
00:20:50 Ballard will just have to wait and see
00:21:02 By working to develop
00:21:05 Ballard has revolutionized deep
00:21:10 At the same time,
00:21:11 he has inadvertently helped to blow
00:21:17 Now anyone with $150,000
00:21:22 a remotely operated search vehicle,
00:21:25 right off the shelf and set off for gold.
00:21:31 Still there are only a handful
00:21:38 Seahawk Deep Ocean Technology,
00:21:44 Seahawk hit the jackpot in 1989
00:21:48 discovering a 17th century Spanish
00:21:53 off the Florida coast
00:22:09 Seahawk is looking for treasure again,
00:22:11 this time in the seas off the coast
00:22:16 Michael Reardon,
00:22:20 sees himself as a treasure hunter
00:22:26 That's one of our goals,
00:22:30 that are archeologically important
00:22:37 So we're playing a fine line
00:22:42 and the out-and-out smash-and-grab
00:22:48 Reardon is after
00:22:52 which they've code named
00:22:55 to keep her identity hidden
00:23:02 Now they've narrowed the search
00:23:06 It's very difficult locating shipwrecks.
00:23:09 Un, with all the sophisticated
00:23:11 it's still quite a chore.
00:23:14 Keep in mind right now
00:23:18 trying to put a small vehicle
00:23:21 There is no road sign over there.
00:23:27 It has taken Rearden and his colleagues
00:23:30 to reach this point.
00:23:32 Now, using some of the same high tech
00:23:36 They are hoping to claim their fortune
00:23:47 Yeah. The vehicle is on the bottom.
00:23:49 Roger that, I copy.
00:23:57 According to Seahawk,
00:24:02 found herself caught in a hurricane
00:24:05 They fought the storm for two days
00:24:08 all hands and passengers bailing
00:24:12 And finally,
00:24:18 and it went under.
00:24:23 She went to the bottom,
00:24:24 carrying a bellyful of
00:24:30 now valued at 20 million.
00:24:36 Six years of work coming down to a dive
00:24:39 with a remote vehicle and, hopefully,
00:24:42 when we get in on the site,
00:24:46 We have a very good sonar images
00:24:48 and dimensions are almost exact
00:24:53 a code name Gold Eagle.
00:24:55 ...get the target at the right.
00:25:16 As the ROV descends into
00:25:20 project manager Brett Hobson discerns
00:25:27 That's the beautiful part
00:25:29 They're little time capsules
00:25:32 And we're just sleuthing
00:25:36 And it you definitely feel like
00:25:38 So far, everything we have seen
00:25:40 is a, telling us it could be the one.
00:25:47 Looking straight down, now, right?
00:25:49 Yes.
00:25:52 We've got the way over there
00:26:15 It's very quiet here
00:26:18 The light, the first one illuminated
00:26:22 It's a very weird feeling.
00:26:26 As the ROV makes a closer pass,
00:26:32 Round.
00:26:33 Really round.
00:26:35 Well, we've got some very
00:26:44 See the big cutout going down to
00:26:52 I don't know what else it could be.
00:26:53 It looks just like what
00:26:59 No paddle wheels I know of
00:27:05 I think we're in trouble.
00:27:09 It's very disappointing at this moment
00:27:12 with a target that we have pinned high
00:27:19 it's not the right vessel.
00:27:22 But can't think of the right words
00:27:26 It's not good.
00:27:38 It takes time and luck to find
00:27:44 And Reardon has run out of both.
00:27:53 Reardon abandons the ship to the sea.
00:27:55 There's no profit to be made
00:27:58 and unlike Ballard, treasure,
00:28:07 In the Mediterranean,
00:28:09 the search for history does not let up
00:28:13 With only a few weeks left,
00:28:15 Ballard and the NR-1 continue
00:28:22 Ballard also deploys Jason,
00:28:24 a remotely-operated search vehicle,
00:28:26 designed and built by engineers from
00:28:38 Archeologists have already spent
00:28:42 and mapping artifacts on the seafloor.
00:28:49 Now it's time for Jason to retrieve them.
00:28:58 Guided by the team,
00:28:59 the robot vehicle plunges 3,000 feet
00:29:09 Most are roman amphoras.
00:29:11 They're 2,000-year-old
00:29:15 the cargo holders of the ancient world,
00:29:17 filled with olive oil, dried fish,
00:29:39 Safely cradling its fragile haul,
00:29:43 slowly traverses the half mile
00:29:54 For the first time in 2,000 years,
00:29:57 human hands will hold
00:30:10 Next stop for these delicate pieces
00:30:14 where they'll be examined
00:30:18 expedition archeological director
00:30:22 and conservator Dennis Piechota.
00:30:25 Oleson is delighted to
00:30:28 Well, to find
00:30:31 adjacent to one another,
00:30:32 just as they would have been left
00:30:35 is extraordinary
00:30:40 Treasure hunters would find little
00:30:44 Yet to archeologist Jon Adams,
00:30:46 a shipwreck is a slice of time
00:30:51 So when a ship sinks it is,
00:30:53 it's a cross section of society
00:30:55 structure, contents,
00:30:58 contextual relationships, etcetera
00:31:00 lost at a single moment in time.
00:31:04 what to leave behind when a ship sinks
00:31:05 It all ends up on the seabed
00:31:08 And ships have been described,
00:31:10 rightly so in a way, as time capsules.
00:31:17 As they continue to explore,
00:31:19 Ballard and the archeologists
00:31:20 are excited to see things
00:31:25 Skerki is turning
00:31:30 Could you zoom in on that?
00:31:35 Keep zooming.
00:31:37 Isn't that beautiful.
00:31:42 They've identified the remains of a ship,
00:31:45 but it's definitely not Roman origin.
00:31:51 Nobody knows, at first, where it's from
00:31:55 It's particularly interesting,
00:31:56 because it seems to be
00:31:59 and we don't see cargo,
00:32:02 which help steady a ship
00:32:05 or if it's a pleasure craft,
00:32:09 or possibly a type of warship.
00:32:12 Look at the reflection on those glasses.
00:32:15 Keep driving straight. Don't stop.
00:32:20 It's glasses.
00:32:22 I'm just amazed that there's glasses.
00:32:30 Glass. Lamps that brightened
00:32:37 And despite thousands of pounds
00:32:40 they have survived unbroken.
00:32:43 Obviously one of our big concerns is
00:32:45 that these artifacts are very,
00:32:48 Jason weighs 3,000 pounds in air
00:32:52 and he's got a tremendous amount
00:32:55 And we want to pick them up
00:33:00 We've never picked up glass before.
00:33:25 Once the objects reach the surface,
00:33:28 they help reveal the nature
00:33:32 It comes from the 16th century
00:33:36 1,500 years later than the Roman ships
00:33:40 when Arab traders sailed these waters.
00:33:43 Look at this.
00:33:45 Could someone hold that open?
00:33:49 Look at that.
00:33:52 Isn't that amazing?
00:34:01 They are not gold or studded
00:34:04 Yet for Ballard, a delicate
00:34:12 They are evidence that Skerki Bank
00:34:14 may have been a crossroads
00:34:21 What has surprised me the most is
00:34:26 that this was a fleet of ships,
00:34:28 that sank together, and it's not at all.
00:34:32 We have ships spanning over
00:34:35 one thousand five hundred years
00:34:39 if not more.
00:34:41 I am just amazed.
00:34:43 I thought that there would be
00:34:49 way far away, another ship.
00:34:50 And yet, in this particular area,
00:34:52 20 square miles four miles by five
00:35:00 This area is it's sort
00:35:09 Ballard is no stranger
00:35:14 He is the man
00:35:15 who discovered one of the most famous
00:35:28 The Titanic.
00:35:32 The largest,
00:35:36 Called a "Floating Palace,"
00:35:42 on her maiden voyage.
00:35:47 She is believed to be unsinkable
00:35:51 in the North Atlantic.
00:35:59 Sideswiping an iceberg,
00:36:00 the great ship sinks
00:36:04 1,523 people, two-thirds
00:36:09 die in the icy waters.
00:36:21 For decades explorers are obsessed
00:36:24 with finding the final resting place
00:36:28 But no one is more intent on the hunt
00:36:31 who spends 13 years looking.
00:36:36 Finally, in 1985,
00:36:38 Ballard and French explorer
00:36:41 discover the remains of
00:36:57 Ballard always treated the grand wreck
00:37:02 But he did it with respect.
00:37:04 To him it was a shrine for the dead
00:37:31 Ballard and the crew even held
00:37:34 for those who died in the tragedy.
00:37:44 When I found the Titanic,
00:37:46 certainly I became emotionally
00:37:50 And Jean-Louis Michel,
00:37:52 who was co-discover
00:37:55 was equally moved.
00:37:58 well, we'll never let this ship
00:38:02 be spoiled or desecrated.
00:38:06 Ballard discovered the Titanic, but
00:38:11 Inadvertently,
00:38:19 Once the location of the Titanic
00:38:22 it was a target for salvagers.
00:38:36 1994. Ballard's worst fears come true.
00:38:42 A new expedition,
00:38:44 led by Connecticut businessman
00:38:47 probes the rotting remains
00:38:53 Tulloch spends tens of millions
00:38:58 and bring up jewelry, eyeglasses,
00:39:00 furnishings anything within reach
00:39:10 Once Tulloch retrieved the objects,
00:39:12 he legally claimed the Titanic
00:39:23 Ballard never thought
00:39:27 I don't think in my wildest imagination
00:39:32 and salvage it.
00:39:33 I mean, I was convinced they wouldn't.
00:39:38 And it just caught me by surprise.
00:39:43 And there was nothing
00:39:46 because, since I didn't claim it,
00:39:49 I mean, it didn't even cross my mind
00:39:55 Eighty-five years ago this month,
00:39:59 on its maiden voyage across
00:40:01 Tomorrow, mid-Southerners
00:40:02 and people from across the world
00:40:05 that that disaster left behind.
00:40:07 Like Ballard, George Tulloch expresses
00:40:12 But he argues that people will
00:40:16 if they can see the artifacts firsthand.
00:40:20 I think Titanic is by itself
00:40:29 it is incomparable in terms of tragic
00:40:35 And I think the objects from that moment
00:40:39 deserve to stay with us.
00:41:19 Tulloch says his company
00:41:23 never sell off the possessions
00:41:26 But his company will profit handsomely
00:41:32 I think the blessing we have is that
00:41:35 the court says that it's ours
00:41:39 And we don't feel that it's ours.
00:41:41 We feel that we're the guardian of it.
00:41:45 Tulloch's historian, Charles Haas,
00:41:47 does not want to deny ordinary people
00:41:53 One only has to look at the museums
00:41:56 that part of the archeology process
00:42:00 from the ocean floor.
00:42:02 There are ample demonstrations
00:42:06 of all kinds of shapes having
00:42:09 and placed in museums
00:42:12 I think it's certainly preferable
00:42:14 to have the Titanic's artifacts
00:42:16 guaranteed to be placed
00:42:19 than to allow them to sit on the
00:42:22 by time and the elements down there,
00:42:25 and accessible, really,
00:42:30 But to archeologist Jon Adams,
00:42:32 there is no scientific reason for
00:42:37 We know a lot about the Titanic.
00:42:39 We know the names of the people on board.
00:42:41 We know its itinerary.
00:42:44 So the question the potential
00:42:47 if you actually go and investigate
00:42:50 in other words, pull up pieces
00:42:53 what is he going to tell you
00:42:56 Now, this is further muddied by the
00:43:01 whose relatives died on the ship.
00:43:15 Is there any difference between
00:43:19 and bringing up an ancient drinking
00:43:25 Tulloch doesn't think so.
00:43:27 One of the people that would criticize
00:43:31 is sucking up the clay containers
00:43:33 from Roman and Greek shipping vessels.
00:43:40 There's something about Titanic
00:43:48 if they feel that it's theirs.
00:43:52 For Ballard,
00:43:54 between an archeological expedition
00:44:00 Every object that's recovered
00:44:02 because an archeologist, an expert,
00:44:06 Sometimes they would say see
00:44:09 Pick it up.
00:44:11 Well, how about the unbroken one?
00:44:12 No, actually the broken jar
00:44:16 Bring it up.
00:44:17 So we'd bring it up.
00:44:20 And so it's a very big difference
00:44:26 a missing chapter in human history
00:44:38 Nearly a decade after discovering
00:44:41 Ballard dove on another grand wreck,
00:44:44 the British luxury liner Lusitania.
00:45:01 High-tech treasure hunters had stripped
00:45:06 looking to sell off the remains.
00:45:15 The salvagers even brought up
00:45:20 One propeller made it to
00:45:24 The second was believed to be
00:45:27 and recast as a very expensive
00:45:33 And the last one met
00:45:39 I can remember going out and
00:45:44 of the Lusitania and
00:45:51 just sitting there amongst
00:45:55 And I can remember when we were diving
00:45:57 on the Lusitania to have
00:46:00 something was missing
00:46:05 And if the propeller was in a museum,
00:46:08 if it was serving some purpose,
00:46:11 I could understand that,
00:46:15 waiting to be sold for scrap,
00:46:19 you have to wonder, why did you do this?
00:46:23 What was going through your brain?
00:46:24 And it had to have been just a lark.
00:46:28 And that's really sad.
00:46:44 Ballard's Mediterranean expedition
00:46:49 And now the NR-1 finally pays off.
00:46:55 The sub uncovers two new sites,
00:46:57 including the oldest they've found,
00:47:00 containing a Roman wreck
00:47:12 The evidence is now inescapable.
00:47:14 Skerki Bank has been
00:47:17 throughout Mediterranean history.
00:47:22 Ballard is anxious to find more.
00:47:24 But the seas suddenly turn dark
00:47:29 Well, we just found the best ancient
00:47:33 and we can't get to it.
00:47:35 We got to get in the water.
00:47:38 They're telling us that we've got a
00:47:40 that's going to be sea state five.
00:47:43 This is our second major storm
00:47:46 We lost 32 hours to the last storm.
00:47:49 How many hours are we going
00:47:52 You know, I want to get down.
00:47:58 But there is one way
00:48:02 Ballard decides to send down
00:48:08 Once under the surface,
00:48:10 the sub will be free of the weather,
00:48:17 On board is archeologist Jon Adams,
00:48:19 eater to see the new find close-up.
00:48:24 Unlike most deep-diving subs,
00:48:26 the NR-1 actually has three windows
00:48:34 For Adams, they are portals
00:48:40 When you're diving,
00:48:40 you can't get half-a-mile down,
00:48:43 And it's easy to lose sight
00:48:47 I suppose their the last moments
00:48:51 before it sank,
00:48:57 that might have actually been going on
00:49:00 as the well organized machine
00:49:04 and down it goes.
00:49:09 So it's quite an awe-inspiring sight.
00:49:20 In this graveyard of lost vessels,
00:49:23 the NR-1 explores the very last site.
00:49:31 The new ship is
00:49:35 from the first century A.D.
00:49:39 And a cargo rarely seen by scientists.
00:49:43 An orderly pile of large cut stones
00:49:48 carefully wrought pieces,
00:49:52 still waiting after 2,000 years,
00:50:00 Perhaps they were the pre-fabricated
00:50:04 carved out of an Egyptian quarry,
00:50:08 It will take months, even years,
00:50:11 before the archeologists
00:50:13 if they ever do.
00:50:21 As always,
00:50:22 Ballard is concerned about protecting
00:50:29 When we discovered the Titanic,
00:50:34 And I was later told
00:50:38 had we recovered one little object,
00:50:41 we could have claimed it,
00:50:48 By bringing up the Skerki artifacts,
00:50:50 Ballard establishes his right
00:50:54 if ever it becomes necessary.
00:50:58 Oh, this is very heavy very heavy.
00:51:01 For now, Ballaard will place
00:51:05 in the Sea Research Foundation,
00:51:08 where they will be preserved
00:51:09 according to the highest
00:51:13 Last one.
00:51:17 Together Ballard and the scientists
00:51:22 of deep sea archeology can work wonders.
00:51:26 I feel very good.
00:51:27 I feel that this, you know,
00:51:31 This is the first major deep sea
00:51:36 an incredible team of people from
00:51:42 working together for the first time
00:51:45 that had never been done before.
00:51:47 I think we have shown that the deep
00:51:53 on a scale we've just never
00:52:02 But are the archeological glories
00:52:06 from salvagers and treasure hunters?
00:52:09 Yes, Ballard believes,
00:52:14 I have no fundamental problem
00:52:19 if they don't destroy history
00:52:23 I don't think it's our right
00:52:26 It's our right to find it
00:52:28 but not our right to destroy it.
00:52:37 As long as there are marvels in the seas,
00:52:39 people will pursue them.
00:52:41 Some will be treasure hunters,
00:52:47 And some will be scientists,
00:52:49 dreaming of the astonishing discovery