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| Figure 1: Original graves of the first three recovered crew members (Source: Brian Spenceley) |
The Franklin Expedition, named after Sir John Franklin and commissioned in 1845 by the British government to seek a navigable route through the Northwest Passage, has been the subject of much mystery and mystique. The intrigue began in 1848 when after three years no one heard from the two-ship crew, despite vocal concerns voiced by Lady Franklin in the years prior. In 1850 a search party was sent out, followed by dozens more all seeking to locate the crew of the HMS Terror and HMS Erebus. Ultimately, the mummified remains of three crew members were discovered, along with some artifacts related to the mission and crew. The crew members were buried on Beechey Island (Figure 1).
It is unclear when specifically the rumors about what specifically happened to the crew began or how and why they came to be. The most audacious rumor was about cannibalism among the crew, and the legends of mythic creatures taking apart and killing the crew have become popular due to fictional accounts of the voyage and its demise. Today’s blog post will address what we know happened to the Franklin Expedition and its crew based on physical anthropological and archaeological expeditions and analyses from the past 30 years.
Tales of the lost Franklin Expedition had existed for generations, but it was in the 1980s that Owen Beattie, several other anthropologists (primarily graduate students), and an Inuk field assistant (Arsien Tungilik) led a forensic anthropological and archaeological expedition into discovering new evidence on the Franklin Expedition. Their work led to the discovery of several crew members, as well as the exhumation of the three previously discovered crew members. Analyses of the recovered remains led to conclusions that starvation, disease (e.g. lead poisoning and tuberculosis), and poor nutrition led to the demise of the crew members. Subsequent investigations have downplayed the importance of the lead poisoning, which had been originally linked to damaged canned goods, and instead cite evidence of zinc deficiencies as stronger evidence for the crew demise. Zinc deficiencies could have been caused by the consumption of spoiled food or a lack of fresh meat resources, which lends credence to two of the original hypotheses. Thus far no studies have provided evidence of cannibalism having occurred among the crew members.
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| Figure 2: HMS Erebus as discovered underwater (Source: Archaeology Magazine) |
Fervor surrounding the Franklin Expedition died down shortly after Beattie and his team published their final results and conclusions. It was not until the early 2000s and political tensions between Russia and Canada that renewed interest into the Franklin Expedition came about. A team of Canadian researchers, including various Canadian archaeologists, were commissioned by the Prime Minister to locate the two lost ships: the HMS Terror and HMS Erebus. They conducted aerial surveys based on previously collected Inuit oral history and interview evidence, as well as consulted living Inuit again for confirmation of previously acquired information. Through the use of this information provided by the Inuit the Canadian team was able to locate both ships in the exact place the Inuit told them that they would.
The team was unable to report their findings initially, but this gave them the time to collect evidence from the ships and conduct proper analyses (Figure 2). Time was a necessary component of their investigation because the ships were below water, meaning specialized underwater archaeological methods had to be conducted. Furthermore, because of these were Artic waters special training had to be done, as well, to avoid and safeguard against the dangers of the frigid waters. Ultimately, both ships were found largely intact, and a variety of artifacts were recovered. Unfortunately, they have not been able to dispel some of the more salacious rumors about the crew, but their discovery to put to rest the mystery of what happened to the ships and where specifically they crashed, ending their mission and leading to their ultimate demise.
Research into the Franklin Expedition is still on going. Again, despite there being no evidence to support claims of cannibalism this idea persists today. It still remains unknown the exact cause of death for all of the crew members. Further complicating matters is the recent genetic evidence that demonstrates of the 24 crew members identified through DNA analyses that four were women. It is unknown if this was an error due to poor sampling or if women were in deed on the ships (either smuggled or women who purposefully masqueraded as men in order to join the crew). While several mysteries have been solved more remain, and it will be interesting to see what the next chapter of anthropological discoveries will be.
Bibliography
Daley, J. (2017, April 26). DNA Could Identify the
Sailors (Including Women) of the Doomed Franklin Expedition. Retrieved
from Smithsonian Magazine:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/dna-extracted-doomed-franklin-expedition-sailors-180963031/
Inskeep, S. (2017, March 21). 'Ghosts' In The
Arctic: How The Long-Lost Franklin Expedition Was Found. Retrieved from
National Public Radio:
https://www.npr.org/2017/03/21/520818684/ghosts-in-the-arctic-how-the-long-lost-franklin-expedition-was-found
Mathur, A. (2017, April 25). Mummified Crew
Remains Of Ill-Fated Franklin Expedition Undergo DNA Identification.
Retrieved from Science Times:
http://www.sciencetimes.com/articles/13497/20170425/mummified-crew-remains-of-ill-fated-franklin-expedition-undergo-dna-identification.htm
McMahon, T. (2014, September 10). Face to face
with a Franklin crew member, 140 years later. Retrieved from MacLeans:
https://www.macleans.ca/society/face-to-face-with-a-franklin-crew-member-140-years-later/
Woods, A. (2016, July/August). Franklin’s Last
Voyage. Retrieved from Archaeology Magazine:
https://www.archaeology.org/issues/220-1607/features/4559-canada-erebus-discovery
Worrall, S. (2017, April 16). How the Discovery of
Two Lost Ships Solved an Arctic Mystery. Retrieved from National
Geographic:
https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/04/franklin-expedition-ship-watson-ice-ghosts/
10 comments:
This topic is extremely interesting. Also, it makes one ponder why many believed it was due to some form of cannibalism, maybe because of the location of where the ships sank? I wish they would’ve further speculated that theory despite the lack of evidence.
This blog was interesting. Its good that the lost crew members were found but it would be nice to know what the cause of their deaths were. If new evidence is found will it be a discussion in SA-202(Future Classes)?..
-Jasmine Busby
I think lost crew stories are interesting. I feel that most people are aware that the mysterious rumors, natural and supernatural disasters "reported" are exaggerations, but that still doesn't stop us from jumping to these conclusions. From an anthropological perspective, I wonder to what extent different cultures jump to different conclusions and why.
Tori Spencer, SA202
This topic gives me creepy vibes to be honest. I wonder how cannibalism came about as a rumor. Overall it was a good topic of how archeologist solved so many of the mysteries people placed on this case or story
I found this post interesting but also kind of scary. The amount of possibly factors that led up to the demise of the crew. Between lead poisoning, zinc deficiency, or just plain starvation, it almost makes you forget how the deceased crewmen were found. Another thing I found interesting was that there were 4 women found within the 24 crewmen found. What I personally believe is that the women hid their sex to be able to work on the ship, but I don't think they planned on this dark demise.
- Chyann Taylor
I never put thought into wrecked or abandoned ships and how different methods would need to be used for them until reading this blog post. It makes sense, but with modern technology its probably something I never put much thought into. I love how the research conducted was able to grab so much useful information.
I never heard of the the Franklin expedition until this blog and I find very much intriguing. It says the crew's demise was starvation among other things as well but what lead them to the fate of starvation? Also lost crew stories can be tricky sometimes because truth of the matter is no one will actually know the honest truth but one has to wonder how does the rumor of cannibalism come into play.
This article was most definitely interesting. I never heard of the Franklin expedition until reading this blog. It's good that archeologist found the remains of the other three crew members. I bet it was frustrating for the archaelogists not being able to determine what was the cause of death.-FE
After all, I believe the purpose of this voyage was to map out the North passage from Europe to Asia. It really just saddens me how both ships were lost and all 129 men on board perished. My best advice is to never spend the winter on a Island in general.
What an interesting blog post goes to show how rumors can be powerful also discovering female remains amongst the crew was an interesting tidbit as well the investigation reminds me of another crew story. In the Ernest Shackelton expedition where a crew traveled to Antarctica and was shipwrecked because of the ice and had to walk home surprisingly the 27 men survived the grueling adventure but sadly their dogs did not as they had to eat them to survive the arctic. I wonder if that is why the cannibalism rumors were so rampant to this crew because of Ernest Shackleton's adventure. Renn Bullard
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