Can we decently make a comparison between an archaeological discovery and a contemporary drama?

Photo

Photo Marine Nationale

Every time the Minerva is mentioned online, I receive a warning message. Sometimes the connection is tenuous, but that wasn't the case with the one I received on June 12, 2025.

the " deepest wreck ever discovered in French territorial waters ," said Arnaud Schaumasse , director of the Department of Underwater and Submarine Archaeological Research (Drassm). The previous one was, until then, that of the submarine La Minerve , discovered in 2019 off Toulon at a depth of 2,350 meters […] the wreck is that of a 16th-century merchant ship that left a port in Northern Italy for an unknown destination, measuring 30 meters by 7, and loaded with at least two cargoes, ceramics and iron transported in the form of bars.

I imagine that no family of the sailors who disappeared aboard this unknown Italian ship has perpetuated the memory of this tragedy. What made me jump was the evocation of the Minerva as if it had just been dethroned by a new discovery that erased its name from the Guinness Book of Records .

What was the point of even mentioning it? When the Minerva was discovered in 2019, no one commented on the "record" depth at which it lay.

Following the discovery of the wreck of Saint Exupéry's plane in 2000, and the curiosity and unhealthy debates that followed, the law changed. Contemporary wrecks lying in French territorial waters systematically become the property of the Ministry of Culture in order to provide them with legal protection. Beyond a certain depth, difficulty of access remains the best form of protection.

I nevertheless invite those who communicated about the discovery of the wreck to the press to reflect and realize that we cannot evoke a drama from the 16th century, the veil of time and oblivion having erased memories with the same detachment as a contemporary drama whose memory remains vivid.

There is, in this sinister comparison, a lack of decency and respect towards the families and loved ones of the 52 sailors of the Minerve.

This adds nothing to the information. Multiple wrecks have been discovered in the world's seas at much greater depths.

The memory and pain of the loved ones of the victims of the Minerve tragedy are still fresh.

Hervé Fauve