Maritime museum hopes fade after tsunami reclaims sea treasures

March 20, GALLE, Sri Lanka (AFP) - Marine archeologists spent nine years trawling the seabed of Sri Lanka's Galle port to collect thousands of centuries-old treasures buried underwater in shipwrecks.

But it took just a few seconds for them to be reclaimed by the ocean when a tsunami battered the shores of this island nation on December 26 and swept away everything in its path, including hopes of opening the country's first maritime museum.