How are shipwreck sites discovered?
Shipwrecks are usually found either by accident, or after someone or a group goes looking for them. Divers might find an unknown wreck while on a recreational dive, or on the other hand, a dredge could smash into a wreck while deepening the entrance to a harbour. Commercial fishermen often snag into them with their gear. Wrecks are also found by survey teams creating hydrographic charts or looking for natural resources. Most shipwrecks are found when people go looking for them. Underwater archaeologists are often asked to survey an area and report on the number and type of shipwrecks in that area. Many divers spend thousands of hours researching historical records, such as government archives or old newspaper articles, which will lead them to the location of shipwrecks, or narrow down an area in which they can search. Tens of thousands of wrecks have been found around the world by both archaeologists and divers. Searching for wrecks can be done simply by searching along the bottom whil
