The general assumption has long been that an iceberg tore a huge gash in the starboard hull of the Titanic, which sank in under three hours in the early hours of 15~(th) April 1912. The discovery, in 1985, of Titanic's resting-place two miles down in the North Atlantic opened up new avenues of inquiry. An expedition of 1996 found not a large gash but, obscured by mud, six narrow slits where bow plates appeared to have parted from the hull. Naval experts speculated that rivets had popped along the seams, admitting seawater under high pressure.
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