Archaeology
Underwater archaeologists recover HMS Erebus crew belongings
A team of underwater archaeologists from Parks Canada have recovered personal objects belonging to the crew of the HMS Erebus.
The HMS Erebus was constructed in 1826 by the Royal Navy in Pembroke dockyard, Wales. The ship was a refitted Hecla-class bomb vessel, that was used to explore both the Arctic and Antarctic during the Ross expedition of 1839–1843 (Antarctic), and the failed Franklin expedition of 1848 (Arctic).
The Franklin expedition was assigned to traverse the last un-navigated sections of the Northwest Passage in the Canadian Arctic, however, the expedition met with disaster after the HMS Erebus and the HMS Terror became icebound near King William Island.
After a year trapped in the ice, the crews abandoned their ships and planned to walk across the sea ice to the Canadian mainland, but died on the long 250 mile trek. In 2014, the sunken remains of the HMS Erebus was discovered by the Canadian Victoria Strait expedition in Wilmot and Crampton Bay, located to the west of the Adelaide Peninsula.
In a recent press announcement by Parks Canada, underwater archaeologists have conducted 68 dives to investigate the HMS Erebus wreck site, recovering hundreds of objects and taking thousands of high-resolution imagery.
According to the announcement: “Carefully excavated artefacts were retrieved to help piece together more information about the 1845 Franklin Expedition, including naval technology, scientific work, and life aboard the vessel.”
The researchers recovered items relating to navigation and science, including a parallel ruler, an intact thermometer, a leather book cover, and a fishing rod with a brass reel. The team found the objects in the officer’s cabin, and believe that they belonged to Second Lieutenant Henry Dundas Le Vesconte.
Also found is a leather shoe or boot bottom, storage jars, and a sealed pharmaceutical bottle from what is thought to be the Captain’s Steward’s pantry. Ongoing excavation efforts took place in a cabin attributed to Third Lieutenant James Fairholme, revealing a collection of unidentified fossils that complement findings from the 2022 season.
Excavations in the forecastle area (where most of the crew lived) yielded a treasure trove of historical items such as pistols, military gear, footwear, medicinal bottles, and coins.
The Honourable Steven Guilbeault – Minister of Environment and Climate Change and Minister responsible for Parks Canada, said: “The Franklin expedition remains one of the most popular mysteries from the nineteenth century. However, thanks to the important work of Parks Canada and Inuit partners, pieces of this mysterious puzzle are being retrieved allowing us to better understand the fascinating events of this incredible expedition.”
Header Image Credit : Parks Canada – Brett Seymour
This content was originally published on www.heritagedaily.com – © 2023 – HeritageDaily
Archaeologists from Cotswold Archaeology are excavating the crash site of a WWII B-17 Flying Fortress in an English woodland.
The B-17 Flying Fortress is an American four-engine heavy bomber aircraft developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC).
The bomber was mainly used in the European theatre for daylight strategic bombing, complimenting the RAF Bomber Command’s night bombers in attacking German industrial, military and civilian targets.
Cotswold Archaeology have been tasked by the Defense POW / MIA Accounting Agency to search the crash site for the remains of the pilot, who died when the B-17 crashed following a system failure in 1944.
Image Credit : Cotswold Archaeology
At the time, the plane was carrying a payload of 12,000lbs of Torpex, an explosive comprised of 42% RDX, 40% TNT, and 18% powdered aluminium. Torpex was mainly used for the Upkeep, Tallboy and Grand Slam bombs, as well as underwater munitions.
The pilot was declared MIA when the plane exploded into an inferno, however, using modern archaeological techniques, the researchers plan to systematically excavate and sieve the waterlogged crash site to recover plane ID numbers, personal effects, and any surviving human remains.
It is the hope of the excavation team members that they will be able to recover the pilot’s remains and return him to the United States for burial with full military honours.
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) is an agency within the U.S. Department of Defense whose mission is to recover unaccounted Department of Defense personnel listed as prisoners of war (POW) or missing in action (MIA) from designated past conflicts.
Header Image Credit : Cotswold Archaeology
Sources : Cotswold Archaeology
This content was originally published on www.heritagedaily.com – © 2023 – HeritageDaily
Archaeologists excavating at the ancient Tharsa necropolis have uncovered a Roman Era tomb guarded by two carved bull heads.
Tharsa is located near Kuyulu village in southeastern Turkey along the Adıyaman-Şanlıurfa Highway.
The site was situated on a major Roman highway from Doliche to Samosata, which today consists of a two settlement mounds and a large necropolis that dates from the 3rd century to the Byzantine period.
Excavations first commenced in 2021 which discovered a collection of Turuş Rock Tombs, a type of tomb construction carved directly into the bedrock.
In the latest season, archaeologists have excavated another Turuş Rock Tomb, however, this example was found to have two carved bull heads which is decorated with garlands and rosettes between the horns.
Bull heads, known as Bucranium, were a form of carved decoration commonly used in Classical architecture. In Ancient Rome, bucrania were often used on the friezes of temples in the Doric order of architecture, later influencing the architecture of buildings from the Renaissance, Baroque, and Neoclassical periods.
Architectural examples of bucrania are representations of the practice of displaying garlanded, sacrificial oxen, whose heads were displayed on the temple walls.
Like similar Turuş Rock Tombs, the bull heads are carved directly into the bedrock, guarding a dozen rock cut steps descending into the burial chamber which has three arched niches known as acrosolia.
Mustafa Çelik, Deputy Director of Adıyaman Museum, said, “Tharsa Ancient City consists of 3 main archaeological areas: Big Mound, Small Mound and Necropolis Area. We started excavations in the necropolis area in 2024. We added 2 more rock tombs to the rock tombs we had previously uncovered. One of them is the rock tomb we identified today.”
Header Image Credit : Adıyaman Museum
Sources : Adıyaman Museum
This content was originally published on www.heritagedaily.com – © 2023 – HeritageDaily
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