The Sacred and Profane

A couple of weeks ago, the HHI rubes were spraying spittle ranting about Odyssey's alleged violation of the sacred "grave site" of the Mercedes shipwreck (of course, they were merely squawking the same dramatic lines spouted by the main parrot, Jim Gould). We won't rehash all the nonsense here -- you can read all about it below -- but there are many reasons why that charge was utterly unfounded and ridiculous.

At the time, one of our smartest friends, Jeff K., noted that no archaeological dig could ever be possible if disturbing human remains was disallowed. And, low and behold, take a look-see at what showed up today on the HHI website:

Now, while this is a rather macabre photo taken from an archaeological site (though it could be any CSI photo ever taken), we understand this process is an important scientific endeavor. And, while it might appear, at first glance anyway, to be unnecessarily intrusive, it is, in fact, a necessary reality of the archaeological process.

Odyssey faces no less different challenges in its work, except that in the cases of deep-ocean graves, marine organisms consume remains in relatively quick order. (For obvious reasons, the vast sea is not an environment hospitable to dead things.) The point is, if one follows archaeological protocols, and as this photo aptly illustrates, handling human remains is a manageable part of the process.

So, regardless of the profane rants of the HHI divas, and Spain's lead attorney on the BS case, that Odyssey thoughtlessly "raided" the graves of the deceased, the fact is the company approaches shipwreck sites with all the rigor of trained scientists, along with a healthy dose of respect, ethics and humility. This fact is frequently missing in criticisms of Odyssey, but we are here to change that.

Why? Because we pay attention.