As the French Archaeologist Salomon Reinach famously remarked, ‘The sea is the largest museum in the world’.

In particular, ancient ship-wrecks are a record of human evolution.

Therefore, I would argue that they are part of the consciousness and collective memory of mankind, e.g. because ancient shipwrecks and the ‘stuff’ found inside them on the seabed in the Mediterranean, provide evidence of when the Roman Empire reached its peak in terms of size and geographical extent, i.e. in the mid-2nd century.

So, these ship-wrecks tell us when the Roman empire began to decline. This knowledge is of value and benfit to all humanity, i.e. because of the lessons that history can teach us today.

Since what marine archaeologists and historians can learn from ancient ship-wrecks is of value to humanity, do ‘fiduciary duties’ attach to these underwater sites and ship-wrecks under international law?

For centuries, international lawyers and statesmen have endorsed the principle that a state’s sovereign authority is held in trust for the benefit of its people.’ So, by extrapolation, what duties are or should states be under to preserve and protect underwater archaeological sites around the world for the benefit of mankind?