Between archeology, science and archival : the conservation of the Titanic’s artefacts

The Titanic was a passenger liner that sank in the North Atlantic Ocean more than a century ago, on 15 April 1912. The collision with an iceberg is the reason of the shipwreck, that is really famous because it should have been the first of many crossings between Southampton, UK to New York City, US. The sinking of Titanic killed about 1,500 people.

In this video report directed by CNN, several artefacts are shown to us. They were not recovered from inside the ship wreck, but from the debris field composed of artefacts that went out from the Titanic when she cracked open.

David Galusha is the chief textile conservator for Titanic’s artefacts. He explains to the journalist what sort of artefacts were recovered from the debris field and why. The ship wreck was located in 1985, so seventy-three years after she collided with the iceberg.

David Galusha says that the bottom of the ocean is a “pristine environment”, because there is no light, the water is fresh and salted. These conditions are good for the conservation of artefacts in leather. We can see several parts of leather belts, a suitcase, because of the tanning of leather that permit a good conservation in cold and salted water : it prevents deterioration.

After the recovery of leather artefacts, a important task must be done to create individual archives for each of those ones. Photos, localization of artefact before the recovery, date of the recovery. And when that task has been done, artefacts must be conserved in a full o sea water container. Indeed, as artefacts stayed in the ocean for decades, the most efficient way to protect those ones is to recreate the same environment to keep the bacteriologic balance.

Conservation of pieces of paper follows the same way : Alex Klingelhofer, who is the vice president of collections, says to the journalist that pieces of paper must be kept wet to avoid disintegration happening. It’s really important to take care of paper documents like books or playing cards, because she says that scientists didn’t think that they will recover these so fragile artefacts after decade in salt water.

In case of exhibition, specialists take lots of photos and compare with elder photos to see the eventual evolution of artefacts. If there is a problem, the artefact is removed to be treated. The perpetual control of the evolution of different materials is indispensable to conserve those ones in the better possible state.

For some people, the recovery of Titanic’s artefacts is a bad thing. Indeed, they think that is like a theft whereas the ship wreck and debris field must be considered as a sanctuary dedicated to the 1,500 victims. We can see several comments of YouTube members about that polemical debate.  

In my opinion, trying to preserve all Titanic’s artefacts or most of them is an illusion.

I’m in favour of the preservation of some symbolic artefacts because it requires a special treatment to be protected. Our duty is to proceed to a relevant selection of artefacts as medium for transferring collective memory from one generation to another.

Legal protection of Titanic

To read this article in french only, click here :

http://blogs.univ-poitiers.fr/jp-pancracio/tag/protection-des-epaves-historiques/

Jean-Paul Pancracio, a maritime legislation specialist, redacted an article that refers to the legal protection of Titanic. It mentions the American jurisdiction intervention for regulating the enlevement of artefacts removal of Titanic's ship wreck. In 2002, the Supreme Court of the United States refused definitively the property right of the society RMS Titanic on these artefacts.

So, the society RMS Titanic can only conserve artefacts recovered from inside the ship wreck but this society can not be the owner of these.

The case of Titanic is interesting because it has opened the way of the UNESCO’s convention on Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage and more particularly on the conservation of artefacts on the spot, like the underwater archeological sites.

The 2004 international agreement between the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and France qualifies the Titanic’s wreck site of " international maritime memorial ". This agreement submits diving to an authorization.

I think that limiting the exploration’s rights on the ship wreck of Titanic is a good decision to combat commodification of maritime heritage. It’s a necessary measure to prevent artefacts dispersion and consequently Titanic’s cultural heritage dissemination.
To my mind, the Titanic's wreck and submerged artefacts belong to the 1,500 people that died in 1912. Many artefacts have already been recovered, many submarines have already visited the wreck site. Today, time is not to new researches yet, but to the respect of the so numerous victims. Furthermore, regulation is effective to limit accidents. TheTitanic is really damaged because of corrosion, and every new submarine diving could accelerate the destruction of the wreck.

 Titanic Belfast

Enhancement of heritage can contribute at the revitalization  of territories.

So, in 2012 the Titanic Belfast was inaugurated. The Titanic Belfast is situated in the disappeared shipyards, on the slipways where the Titanic liner was built. It's a store dedicated to the Titanic’s story since its construction to its wreck.

Titanic embodies high level technical building carried out by the industrial society. It symbolizes exceptional capacities deployed in the shipbuilding at the beginning of the XXth century. It’s a justifiable reason to transmit the Titanic’s story by insisting on the human side.

The Titanic Belfast is an ambitious project which cost 117, 000, 000 euro !

Nowdays, Belfast’s past is used to stimulate its own development. The Titanic Belfast isn’t a traditional museum because it doesn’t expose relics of past. Indeed, it’s an active interactive adventure which invites visitors to relive the Titanic’s legend by special effects and 3D experiments. The Titanic Belfast is also a sensitive experience because the grand staircase and the cabins in the Titanic was recreated so that visitors feel in the authentic liner.

The Titanic Belfast is a way to attract in Belfast and in the North of Ireland many visitors of the whole world. Maritime heritage can be a pretext to increase attraction of a city. Here, tourism promotes and protects culture without detriment to the underwater cultural heritage remains.

In my opinion, it’s a good idea to offer new learning supports to tourists. Indeed, the traditional model of a museum is, for some people, a little bit boring. I think that electronic and interactive technologies can involve people more than traditional exhibition rooms. Nowadays, to visit a cultural place should be as entertaining as a show, but as instructive as a classic museum in the same time. Former museums are trying to adapt their collections to new technologies, but it’s difficult to reinvent Le Louvre or the British Museum. Here in Belfast, it’s really easier to create an adapted museum to these new technologies, new cultural conceptions, because the building was purpose-built in this goal