FEATURE - underwater archeology

Some of the world's most fascinating historical objects have emerged from the deep.

Oceans, rivers, and lakes are tombs for an incalculable wealth of objects. Although underwater recovery is not always easy, advances in technology have made maritime archeology an exciting new frontier for historians.

In 1943, Jacques Cousteau and Emile Gagnan revolutionized underwater exploration with their aqualung, a self-contained underwater breathing apparatus.

This scuba device allowed humans to freely dive to depths of 180 feet. The next great advance was titanium-reinforced submersibles, which could probe two and a half miles below sea level.

In 1985, an unmanned submersible finally made contact with the Titanic. The notion that a great gash had ripped the ship in two was now debunked.

In 2002, one of history's most significant discoveries was made by sheer accident. Off India’s coast, oceanographers unearthed what could be one of the world's oldest civilizations. Scientists used sonar to identify huge geometric structures dating back 10,000 years.