OTTAWA, CANADA—The shipwreck discovered last month in the Arctic has been identified by Parks Canada underwater archaeologists as HMS Erebus, one of the ships in Sir John Franklin’s doomed 1845 expedition to find the Northwest Passage from the Atlantic Ocean to Asia. Franklin commanded the enterprise from the Erebus, but it is not known if he was buried at sea before the ship was abandoned in 1847. “Without a doubt it is the most extraordinary shipwreck I’ve ever had the privilege of diving on,” lead archaeologist Ryan Harris told CBC News. He and his diving partner did not enter the ship, but they could see below decks through exposed beams and old skylights. A total of seven dives have been conducted to date. To read about the discovery of HMS Investigator, the doomed vessel dispatched to search for HMS Erebus and HMS Terror, see ARCHAEOLOGY's feature "Saga of the Northwest Passage."
