1When a ship sinks beneath the waves, it does not truly disappear; it becomes a sealed time capsule.
2Marine archaeologists therefore treat every wreck with the same patience and care as a crime scene.
3Before touching anything at all, divers photograph every single object in its exact original position.
4A careful grid of ropes then divides the whole seabed into a series of numbered squares.
5Wooden hulls often survive for many centuries beneath the cold, oxygen-poor mud of the seabed.
6Amphorae once filled with wine or olive oil can reveal the ancient trade routes of entire empires.
7Salt water, however, slowly turns heavy iron cannons into fragile and shapeless lumps of rust.
8Recovered timbers must soak quietly in special tanks for many years before they can safely dry.
9Removing them from the water too quickly would cause the ancient wood to shrink and collapse.
10Every single recovered object, however small, adds another sentence to a story written long ago.
11In this patient way, the dark ocean floor slowly becomes an archive of our human history.