This subject takes us under the sea... people are searching for ancient treasure sites and sunken ships' treasure. Sometimes they even have a specific target. But how do they find this target and its treasure?
A lot of things go into finding it. History, believe it or not, takes a lot of it. They need to know the history of the target (usually a boat), and knowledge of the timeline it comes from and when it sunk. This helps when they're searching the shipwreck, and analyzing different artifacts for clues. If an artifact comes from a different timeline than the target's, it could either have come in at a different time than the target, or it could mean that that shipwreck is not the target. But a working knowledge of history is needed in order to decipher the clues on artifacts.
Artifacts give off clues to the mystery of the shipwreck... and/or are the clues! But a lot is needed to get those clues... since they don't always have an exact date on them. History is a major player in figuring out this stuff, but science plays a part too. Things can grow on artifacts, even underwater, and sometimes you have to figure out how long something's been growing on your artifact. Different devices allow us to use science to figure out a date. Some devices are taken on-board, but sometimes the artifacts have to be sent to labs so the clues can be found and figured out.
Artifacts give off clues, like said above. But you also need to be able to get those clues! Since the wreck and its artifacts can be very deep underwater, you can't exactly take a diving suit and go under. So what does the searching and digging? Robots!
Or R.O.V.s (Remotely Operated Vehicles... looks basically like a chunky, box-like robot)! They can glide around in the water, have claws that can pick up heavy junk or very delicate artifacts, have cameras and super-strong lights for very dark areas, and even sonar for when the conditions make it impossible to see (like when a current kicks up so much stuff you can't see)! And these handy devices also have suction-cup like things to pick up smaller objects (like coins), and blowers to blow sand and stuff out of the way.
How do you control this complicated machine? You can't exactly sit in one and drive like a car! Well, the R.O.V. has a special cable connected to the ship. Signals go to and from the ship via this cable, controlling the R.O.V. and getting data from it. Three different rooms on the ship are needed to control the R.O.V..
But these things are huge! Getting them on and off ship can be a complicated process... in fair weather! Things can get a whole deal more difficult in foul weather. A lot depends on these R.O.V.s, since you can't always just dive into the deep to get this stuff. And it is usually worth all the fuss... R.O.V.s, despite the complications, can be very useful.
Other factors can come into play too. A ship has to be parked in a spot, and can't move while the R.O.V. is doing its thing. Special computer-controlled thrusters in the ship (controlled by a DP system) keep the ship in one place. This can be a problem when you're in a highly-traveled area... you have to keep in constant radio contact, and keep yourself from being rammed by other ships!!!
And then there's politics. You have to get permission to be
in certain areas, and make sure that you don't even accidentally go into a
different area, especially one controlled by a foreign country (or foreign to
the country which gave you permission to search that area). And sometimes you just have to deal with different legal troubles... not always related to territory issues, but are still legal issues.
Different laws can sometimes come into play in artifact-grabbing. Certain artifacts are made up stuff which is illegal to transport. You can bring it up to research and try to figure out clues on it, but you have to put them back. Some stuff can be sent to labs so clues can be discovered (and sometimes they have to be), but they're usually smaller stuff.
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