The ship of polar explorer Ernest Shackleton, which sunk off Antarctica 106 years ago, has been recovered by an expedition.
About 10,000 feet below the surface of the Weddell Sea, a wooden ship called Endurance has been discovered.
Mensun Bound, a marine archaeologist and the expedition’s director of exploration, dubbed the discovery “a milestone in Arctic history.”
“This wooden shipwreck is the best I’ve ever seen. It stands erect, protruding from the bottom, undamaged, and in pristine condition. It even has the word ‘Endurance’ arced over the stern, which is noticeable “Bound was the word used.
The Endurance was located by an expedition this week, 106 years after it sank into the Weddell Sea. Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust & National Geographic
Shackleton’s trans-Antarctic expedition went dangerously awry
Shackleton, a British adventurer, started out to cross Antarctica just as the First World War broke out in 1914. On two ships, the Endurance and Aurora, Shackleton planned to embark 27 men on a journey to Antarctica to discover two possible paths to cross the ice. Despite this, the Endurance got stuck in ice off the Antarctic coast in January 1915.
For months, the guys survived aboard the ship, but the ice was slowly crushing it. Shackleton ordered the Endurance to be abandoned on October 27, 1915. Many of the ship’s provisions had already been rendered unavailable due to the ship’s hull’s damaged timbers, so the soldiers were instructed to take just 2 pounds of personal gear apiece. On November 21, 1915, the Endurance eventually broke apart and sunk in the Weddell Sea.
All hope of making it across Antarctica was dashed after setting up a new base camp atop an ice floe. Once again, it was a matter of survival, and it would take until August 1916 for all the soldiers to be found and brought back to safety.
The Aurora was likewise encased in ice and stranded. Before the remaining crew members were recovered in early 1917, three men from the journey perished.
