Archaeologists continue to use DNA analysis to identify the crew members of Captain Sir John S. Franklin’s ill-fated Arctic expedition. Four more names have been added to the list of those previously identified.
The remains of the doomed HMS Erebus and HMS Terror, icebound in the Victoria Strait, revealed their identities through the power of modern science. The findings were published in two academic papers: one in the Journal of Archaeological Science, the other in the Polar Record.
Franklin’s expedition set sail on 19 May 1845, with high hopes for crossing the Northwest Passage. But it became trapped in ice off King William Island in September 1846. Captain James Fitzjames took command after Franklin died on 11 June 1847 and led a desperate march to find help.
No concrete news about their fate emerged until 1854, when local Inuits reported seeing around 40 people dragging a ship’s boat. Bodies were later found near the Back River and at Erebus Bay in subsequent searches. The mystery of what befell Franklin's crew remains a chilling reminder of the dangers of Arctic exploration.
