Are shipwrecks graves or historical archives?

Should shipwreck sites and their artifacts be left untouched or recovered?

They should be judged case by case, balancing a wreck's status as a grave with the value of preserving evidence for future learning.

A wreck can be both a grave and a source of irreplaceable historical evidence. A sailor may want to leave the grave undisturbed, while a historian sees artifacts that can preserve memory and teach future generations. Those duties can point in opposite directions at the same site. A case-by-case judgment preserves both concerns.