09/09/2026
The “Big Piece.” It is a massive section of Titanic's starboard hull, measuring roughly 26 feet (7.9 meters) wide and 20 feet (6.1 meters) high, and weighing about 15 tons.
The section was first spotted on the seafloor in 1994, but bringing it to the surface proved difficult. A recovery attempt in 1996 failed when the lifting equipment could not safely bring the enormous section all the way to the surface.
In August 1998, RMS Titanic, Inc. successfully recovered the piece. It had spent roughly 86 years underwater, about 12,400 feet below the surface.
After being brought ashore, the Big Piece underwent an extensive conservation process to remove salts and corrosion products and stabilize the metal. It was eventually prepared for public exhibition.
Today, the Big Piece is on permanent display at TITANIC: The Artifact Exhibition inside the Luxor Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. It remains the largest single section of Titanic's hull ever recovered.
What makes it especially remarkable is that this is not a replica—it is an actual section of Titanic's hull that spent more than eight decades on the ocean floor before being brought back to the surface.
