Shipwrecks also represent human stories of the highest imaginable drama. Great acts of courage, senseless tragedy, human nature at its best and worst all emerge from historical accounts and the stories that survive a broken ship. The heroism of a captain, the greed of a stingy shipowner, the stupidity of a watchman all find their ways into the written and verbal accounts of shipwrecks. Shipwrecks are remembered in the towns of lost mariners and in the towns where survivors received care. Shipwreck artifacts adorn local museums, treasured objects that symbolize a community's place in history.
Families recount their roles in a rescue for generations.
The timeline of many coastal communities is punctuated by the dates of shipwrecks nearby. Over time, the shipwrecks become everyone's history, just as the sea belongs to all. Nothing stirs the imagination like finding part of a shipwreck. A rusty metal fitting on a lonely stretch of beach can haunt us with many unknowns. Studying shipwrecks is important work for archeologists, historians, and all kinds of people who live near the coast.