Why the Titanic Is Falling Apart But This Ancient Ship Isn’t

Bright Side

Why is the Titanic falling apart while an ancient ship from the 5th century BCE is still preserved? Watch this fascinating history and archaeology documentary exploring the mystery behind shipwreck preservation. Discover how ocean conditions, bacteria, and deep sea pressure are destroying the Titanic wreck. Learn why an ancient wooden ship survived for over 2,000 years under unique underwater conditions. This viral history video reveals shocking facts about maritime archaeology and lost civilizations. Click play to uncover the science behind one of the greatest shipwreck mysteries ever.  Credit: Titanic / Twentieth Century Fox GFAJ-1: By NASA/Jodi Switzer Blum - http://www.nasa.gov/topics/universe/features/astrobiology_toxic_chemical.html, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12203904 CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/: Teredo Turu Shipworm: By Deplewsk, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=71116523 Shipworm mcr1: By Michael C. Rygel, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11231610 CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0: Ancient ship 6th: By Artreve, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=40677524 Lithoredo abatanica: By J. Reuben Shipway, Gary Rosenberg, Gisela P. Concepcion, Margo G. Haygood, Charles Savrda, & Daniel L. Distel - Shipway, J. R., Rosenberg, G., Concepcion, G. P., Haygood, M. G., Savrda, C., & Distel, D. L. (2019). Shipworm bioerosion of lithic substrates in a freshwater setting, Abatan River, Philippines: Ichnologic, paleoenvironmental and biogeomorphical implications. PloS one, 14(10), e0224551.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0224551, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=162136651 Kaubalaeva "E. Russ" vrakk: By Juha Flinkman, SubZone OY, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=38706456 CC BY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0: Reef bottom: By CaptainObvious/sketchfab, https://skfb.ly/6sBKC Schooner Northerner (Built 1851): By Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast NMS/sketchfab, https://skfb.ly/owECy Halomonas sp. R5-57: By Adele Williamson, Concetta De Santi, Bjørn Altermark, Christian Karlsen, Erik Hjerde - Complete genome sequence of Halomonas sp. R5-57. In: Standards in Genomic Sciences volume 11, Article number: 62. doi:10.1186/s40793-016-0192-4, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=138620206 Christopher Columbus: By Wellcome Collection - https://wellcomeimages.org/indexplus/image/V0044819.html, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=36658955 Animation is created by Bright Side. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  Music from TheSoul Sound: https://thesoul-sound.com/   Check our Bright Side podcast on Spotify and leave a positive review! https://open.spotify.com/show/0hUkPxD34jRLrMrJux4VxV  Subscribe to Bright Side: https://goo.gl/rQTJZz  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  Our Social Media:  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brightplanet/  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brightside.official  TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@brightside.official?lang=en   Stock materials (photos, footages and other):  https://www.depositphotos.com  https://www.shutterstock.com  https://www.eastnews.ru  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  For more videos and articles visit: http://www.brightside.me  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  This video is made for entertainment purposes. We do not make any warranties about the completeness, safety and reliability. Any action you take upon the information in this video is strictly at your own risk, and we will not be liable for any damages or losses. It is the viewer's responsibility to use judgement, care and precaution if you plan to replicate.

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00:01Now, it's been barely a century since the Titanic sank, but scientists say that already, within just a few decades,

00:09its wreckage could disappear almost entirely.

00:13Meanwhile, a Greek wooden shipwreck that's around 2,400 years old is still looking good.

00:20Is it because of some ancient shipbuilding magic, the materials, or something entirely different?

00:25Well, let's find out.

00:28In the red corner, the infamous Titanic really doesn't need an introduction.

00:33It was the largest ship of its time, stretching nearly 900 feet in length.

00:38Constructed using strong steel plates and held together with iron and steel rivets, it was powered by coal-fired steam

00:45engines.

00:46Inside were dining rooms, elevators, even a swimming pool.

00:50In 1912, Titanic set out from Southampton, heading for New York, with about 2,200 people on board.

00:57Four days later, it hit an iceberg.

01:00The hull tore open, water rushed in, and the unsinkable ship went to the bottom of the North Atlantic, nearly

01:07two and a half miles down.

01:08When explorers finally found it in 1985, it looked surprisingly complete, with two large pieces mostly intact.

01:17But time, pressure, and saltwater have been eating away at it ever since.

01:22Parts like railings have fallen apart, decks have sunk, and entire sections are starting to break down.

01:29At this rate, experts believe that by around 2037, most of what's left could be gone.

01:37Meanwhile, in the blue corner is the Greek Challenger.

01:41In 2018, researchers exploring the Black Sea made a very different kind of discovery.

01:47About 6,600 feet below the surface, they found a Greek merchant ship that sank around 400 BCE.

01:55Now, it's only about 75 feet long, but it's still clearly recognizable as a ship.

02:01The mast and rudder are visible.

02:03It was most likely a cargo ship, built for short and medium-range trips,

02:08transporting goods between ports rather than across open oceans.

02:13Whatever happened, it sank deep in the Black Sea and stayed there, surprisingly well-preserved.

02:19The wood hasn't disintegrated, and the shape of the ship is still easy to recognize even after so much time.

02:26This doesn't seem possible, but the explanation is really cool.

02:31In almost every situation, wood is far less resilient than steel.

02:36Steel is one of the strongest materials humans have ever made.

02:40It can handle huge pressure and heavy loads for years.

02:43That's why modern ships, skyscrapers, and bridges are built from it.

02:48Wood is soft, flexible, and much weaker.

02:51It deteriorates rather quickly, especially when exposed to sunlight, oxygen, and water.

02:57Wooden shipwrecks are doomed to disintegrate sooner or later.

03:00Salt water soaks in, fibers break down, and living things start to eat it.

03:06In shallower warm seas, wood becomes a meal for shipworms.

03:10Well, not actual worms, but mollusks that drill through timber like underwater termites.

03:16They feed on wooden ships, and in just a couple of decades, poof, gone.

03:22So, by all logic, the Titanic, made of solid steel, should be the one lasting longer.

03:28And the Greek ship, made of wood, should have turned to dust centuries ago.

03:32But that's only true when both are exposed to a similar environment.

03:38Titanic's remains are in the North Atlantic.

03:40It's one of the harshest environments on Earth.

03:43The wreck lies about 12,500 feet deep,

03:46where the pressure is more than 370 times greater than at the surface.

03:52Temperatures hover just above freezing,

03:54and the water is loaded with salt and dissolved oxygen.

03:58When iron and steel meet oxygen in salt water,

04:01they form iron oxide, or rust.

04:05But the Titanic's decay isn't just chemical.

04:08It's also biological.

04:10In the 1990s, scientists discovered special bacteria on the wreck

04:14called Halomonas titanicae.

04:17These microbes actually feed on the metal itself,

04:21building fragile, icicle-shaped formations called rusticles.

04:25Rusticles may look solid, but they're brittle and hollow,

04:28like coral made of rust.

04:30As they grow, they break off, taking bits of the ship with them.

04:35Every rusticle that falls means a little more of the Titanic disappears.

04:39Add to that strong underwater currents and deep-sea pressure,

04:43and it's easy to understand why the wreck is slowly collapsing in on itself.

04:48The Black Sea, on the other hand, has some fascinating traits that make it unique.

04:54Its structure is like a giant layer cake,

04:57made of two completely different oceans stacked on top of each other.

05:01At the top, you have regular seawater, full of oxygen and marine life.

05:06But below about 600 feet, it's quite the opposite.

05:09The deeper layer is dense, salty, and completely cut off from the surface.

05:14Scientists call this stratification, meaning the layers don't mix much,

05:19kind of like oil and vinegar after they've settled in a bottle.

05:23That happens because rivers on one side bring in a lot of fresh water,

05:27while salty water from the Mediterranean sneaks in through a narrow passage near Turkey.

05:32The fresh water floats on top because it's lighter,

05:36trapping the heavier, saltier layer underneath.

05:39Now here's the cool part.

05:41That lower layer has been sealed off for thousands of years.

05:45No oxygen reaches it, so oxygen-dependent marine life can't survive.

05:51Instead, it's filled with hydrogen sulfide,

05:54a gas produced by bacteria that live off decaying organic matter.

05:58In other words, the environment helps preserve materials

06:02by preventing typical biological decay.

06:05Without oxygen and living creatures to feed on wood or metal,

06:09whatever sinks there basically ends up frozen in time for quite a while.

06:14And it really works.

06:16Even delicate things like rope, leather, and fabric have survived at those depths.

06:21That's why archaeologists love this place.

06:24They've recorded over 60 shipwrecks – Greek, Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman –

06:29many of them remarkably well-preserved.

06:32Ancient shipbuilders were true artists.

06:35They didn't have machines or metal welding,

06:37but they knew how to make wood strong enough to survive storms and long voyages.

06:42By the 5th century BCE,

06:45Greek builders had developed ships capable of traveling on long-distance Mediterranean trade routes.

06:50Their designs stayed mostly the same for centuries.

06:53You could say they were the trucks of the ancient world, but just slower.

06:59Over time, humans kept improving their ships.

07:02By the Middle Ages, sailing vessels had multiple masts and complex rigging,

07:07allowing them to cross the oceans instead of just hugging the coast.

07:12Then came the Age of Exploration –

07:14massive wooden ships with cannons, global trade, and sea empires.

07:18By the 19th century, wood had reached its limits.

07:23Steam engines replaced sails, and iron and steel replaced timber.

07:27Ships got bigger, faster, and stronger.

07:30When the Titanic was built in 1912,

07:33it represented the absolute peak of shipbuilding technology.

07:36It even had electricity.

07:39Even if the Titanic hadn't sunk, it wouldn't be sailing today anyway.

07:44Maybe it'd be a floating museum.

07:46One thing is certain, though, it would have been a vastly different movie.

07:51Today, scientists are racing to preserve both kinds of shipwrecks –

07:55the ones frozen in time, and the ones fading fast.

07:59In the North Atlantic, robotic submarines are mapping the Titanic

08:04with 3D scans before the wreck collapses completely.

08:07Meanwhile, in the Black Sea, underwater drones explore without disturbing anything,

08:13capturing ships that look almost new,

08:16complete with anchors, pottery, and carved decorations.

08:19Because the seabed there has been closed off since forever,

08:23it's not just ships that survive.

08:25Ancient pots, tools, and even traces of villages

08:29still lie buried in the dark, undisturbed layers of silt.

08:34It's one place you need on your map if you are into sea archaeology.

08:39But not all shipwrecks are left untouched.

08:42Around the world, an increasingly common approach

08:44is turning select historic wrecks into managed underwater museums.

08:49Instead of keeping them out of reach,

08:52scientists and conservationists are inviting divers to explore them responsibly.

08:57For example, off the coast of Greece,

09:00one ancient shipwreck from the Classical era

09:02now serves as a protected dive site.

09:05In most cases, moving sunken boats is impractical and risks damage.

09:10They're safer underwater until some new technology arrives.

09:14Maybe we're not that far from the future

09:17where commercially available submarines

09:19could allow everyone to see the Great Titanic firsthand.

09:23That's highly unlikely, of course.

09:25But in case of a what-if scenario,

09:27we just have to hope it happens

09:29while the ship is still there.

09:33That's it for today.

09:34So hey, if you pacified your curiosity,

09:36then give the video a like and share it with your friends.

09:39Or if you want more,

09:40just click on these videos and stay on the bright side!

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