Mysterious lost statue found in Titanic wreck by robot sub as new pics show 112-year-old ruin is being ‘eaten’ on seabed
A MYSTERIOUS lost statue has been found in the Titanic wreck by robot subs as new images show the 112-year-old ruin is slowly decaying.
The new expedition to the tragic wreck shows the ship is falling to pieces – with a large section of railing now laying on the sea floor.
The lost railing that is fondly remembered from the Titanic movie scene of Jack and Rose at the front of the boat was found during the breakthrough dives this summer.
Images captured show how the wreck is continuing to change – and decay – after more than a century on the seabed.
Experts believe the nearly 15ft railing fell off at some point within the past two years as it was digitally scanned and photographed still intact in 2022.
Scientists revealed how the metal structure of the iconic ship is being eaten away by microbes – creating stalactites of rust dubbed “rusticles”.
But a breakthrough discovery was made after an artefact was found that experts didn’t think would be seen again.
In 1986 a bronze statue called the Diana of Versailles was spotted on the sea floor by Robert Ballard – the legend that found the wreck of the Titanic a year prior.
But since then the location was unknown and never documented again – until now.
Experts found the two-foot-tall figure laying face up in the sediment.
The incredible statue stood tall for the Titanic’s first-class passengers in 1912.
Titanic researcher and podcast presenter James Penca told the BBC: “It was like finding a needle in a haystack, and to rediscover this year was momentous.
“The first-class lounge was the most beautiful, and unbelievably detailed, room on the ship.
“And the centrepiece of that room was the Diana of Versailles.”
He continued: “But unfortunately, when Titanic split in two during the sinking, the lounge got ripped open.
“And in the chaos and the destruction, Diana got ripped off her mantle and she landed in the darkness of the debris field.”
This summer RMS Titanic Inc used remotely-operated vehicles to explore the site without any human making the scary descent.
They used ultra-modern tech to scan the mysterious vessel in a hope to gain new insights into its sinking.
RMS Titanic Inc owns the salvage rights to the Titanic and has so far brought up over a whopping 5,500 objects from the wreck.
Despite the US government citing the iconic wreck as a gravesite, the research company previously obtained permission to explore the site.
A court found RMS Titanic Inc’s plan “seeks to minimise disturbance to the rest of the Titanic wreck, including to the hull of the ship and the remains of those 1,500 souls lost in the sinking of the ship.”
The team looked for any objects which they may be able to salvage on future expeditions without entering the ship.
RMS Titanic Inc says its mission is to preserve the legacy of Titanic and its passengers and crew.
They aim to do this “not just through artefact recovery, but also through continuous research, imaging, and educational initiatives”.
The experts are now looking at the footage to catalogue the finds which will create an incredible 3D scan of the entire wreck site.