A new batch of photos of the 112-year-old Titanic shipwreck have been released, following a fresh expedition by the salvage company RMS Titanic Inc.
The biggest find was the re-discovery of the bronze statue "Diana of Versaille," which had not been seen since 1986.
According to RMST, the 2-foot tall statue of the Roman goddess Diana "served as the centerpiece of the First Class Lounge and embodied Titanic's palatial design." It stood on a mantle above the fireplace in the oak-paneled lounge, described as possibly the most elegant space on the ship where first-class passengers would have spent much of their time.
"The lounge was torn open during Titanic's sinking and Diana was thrown to the debris field where she has rested for over a century," RMST said on its website highlighting the expedition. "She was photographed once in 1986 but a tradition of secrecy around the Titanic wreck ensured her location would remain unknown."
That is until an expedition partner spotted what they believed to be the statue in footage from a previous dive and mapped a rough search area for the team. With just hours left on the final day of the expedition, Diana was found and photographed in intricate detail.
James Penca, a researcher with RMST who took part in the expedition, told NPR that finding the statue was like searching for "a needle in a haystack that is two-and-a-half miles underwater in pitch black darkness." He called the discovery "one of the great achievements of this expedition."
Not every discovery left the team with hope, however. Cameras unfortunately found that a large section of the railing along the ship's iconic bow had fallen off, sinking to the ocean floor. The bow is where Jack had his memorable "I'm king of the world" moment in James Cameron's 1997 film, and the image that comes to mind when most people think of Titanic.
"This is a very natural thing, different parts of the railing are getting weaker. But for such a high-profile and highly photographed and iconic railing to now be resting on the ocean floor below, it's a significant change," Penca told NPR. "Titanic will literally never look the same."
RMST added, "Although Titanic's collapse is inevitable, this evidence strengthens our mission to preserve and document what we can before it is too late."
More than 2 million high-res photos were taken during the 20-day voyage, the company's first since 2010. RMST said it plans to compare the footage to determine the impact of the ocean and other expeditions on the site. Countless artifacts were also scouted for future recovery.