I HAVE BEEN TRYING TO FIND OUT IF THERE ARE ANY BODIES STILL LEFT DOWN IN THE TITANIC AS WHEN EVER WE SEE PICTURES ON TELEVISION NO BODIES OR BONES ARE EVER SHOWN. HAS THE SEA DISINTIGRATED THE BONES BY CHEMICAL REACTION, I MEAN SURELY EVEN IN WATER BONES WOULD SURELY STILL BE THERE AFTER 85 YEARS?

I WOULD BE MOST GRATEFUL IF YOU COULD ANSWER THIS ONE AS IT HAS BEEN BUGGING ME FOR A LONG TIME NOW.

-- gary stokes (planet72@hotmail.com), July 29, 1998

Answers

If you check on this site under "historical" threads I think you will find that someone else asked this a few months ago.

Anyway, there are no bodies at the Titanic wreck and very few bones. The only bones to be found have been in isolated areas of the ship, where small organisms haven't gotten to them. Otherwise, decomposition and sea creatures have gotten everything. Just as well, too...I don't think it would make a very good picture.

-- Thomas Shoebotham (cathytom@ix.netcom.com), July 29, 1998.

Often the only thing to be found at an old wreck site is leather items, as the tanning process protects them from the attentions of sea creatures. There is a photo stuck in my mind from when Ballard dived on the wreck of the battleship Bismarck where nothing is left of a body but their seaboots, lying on the bottom of the sea in the same way they were when the fell to the sea floor with a person wearing them.

p.s. no need to shout!

-- Paul F (pdf27@cam.ac.uk), February 04, 2003.

On the subject of bones, some would still exist. Although flesh and other mainly water based tissues would quickly decompose/be consumed, certain bones will not be so easily destroyed. Bones such as the skull, hips and ankle joints are naturally stronger than any other bones in the body. Decomposition will occur over long time periods, however these bone areas are much thicker than bones in human limbs. therefore there is a high chance that these may still exist. Teeth however will still exist. The high calcium content makes them extermely difficult to disolve, although it can be done in a simple can of coke if left for a long period of time! the water and other such chemical weather techniques will not adversly affect the conditions of this part of the human body. James williams - 3rd year Chemistry student, Oxford

-- James williams (randomguy890@hotmail.com), May 19, 2004.

Ballard himself recently re-visited the Titanic, and stated that no identifiable bones (if any) would exist at this time because of the pressure of the depth, and the acidic content in the water. The bones would be disintegrated by now.

-- Donna Wright (donna.wright@ngc.com), September 30, 2004.

The flesh could have still been aroound for the organisims have all decomposed what flesh was still around in open areas although in the sterage and in the 3rd class rooms in the hull of the boat witch are located at the bottom are made out of metal and had screw tight doors I myself have also looked into the titanc and have asked around this is all of what I have herd

P.S please do excuse my spelling

Roger M.Right 5th year physics U of T

-- Roger M. Wright (RogerM.Wright@rogers.com), December 09, 2004.