Buried Treasure: Finders Keepers?

Many experts argue that any artifacts recovered from sunken ships belong in museums, not in the collections of treasure hunters. After all, such items hold priceless information that can help us understand history, says archaeologist James Delgado. 

Many archaeologists, including Delgado, think sunken treasure should be turned over to them to be studied and eventually displayed in museums. Delgado points out that some treasure hunters are only after coins, jewels, and other precious objects that can make them rich. 

“The value is not in how much money you can sell something for; it’s the value of the stories it can tell,” Delgado says. “It allows us to connect to the people who came before us.”

Some archaeologists fear that, in their search for riches, treasure hunters might damage or destroy fragile shipwrecks. Delgado says that important relics, such as bones, may get tossed because they’re not considered valuable. 

“Focusing on how much you can make is very different than how much you can learn,” he says. 

Salvors, or people who hunt for sunken ships, say they deserve to keep some of the treasure they find. They point out that they spend years locating a wreckage, which isn’t easy. Ships break apart as they sink to the seafloor, and artifacts become scattered. Over time, the remains get buried in sand. 

Pritchett and other salvors also spend a lot of money on their expeditions. They use special technology to detect buried metal and then use machines to blow sand off the seafloor to uncover items. Pritchett says he spent about $4 million to find La Trinité. He thinks he should be allowed to keep some of the artifacts or at least get paid for them.

Experts estimate that less than 1 percent of the world’s shipwrecks have been explored. Treasure hunters argue that without them, these pieces of history might be lost forever. 

Jason Lundock is an archaeologist who works with a company that searches for shipwrecks. He says there are ways to compromise. For example, in some countries, treasure hunters are paid a finder’s fee for their discoveries.

1. Which details from the discovery of the La Trinité support the idea that salvors should get to keep treasures they find?

2. Why didn’t Pritchett and his crew get to keep the treasures they found?

3. Summarize the point of view of James Delgado.