OTTAWA, CANADA—CBC News reports that Parks Canada archaeologists have recovered 275 artifacts from the wreckage of HMS Erebus, one of two ships lost in the Arctic during Captain John Franklin’s search for the Northwest Passage in 1845. Erebus was discovered off the northwest coast of King William Island in Nunavut in 2014. Divers can only reach the wreck in the summer months during short dives while wearing special suits heated with warm water pumped from the surface. Most of the objects recovered this summer came from the steward’s pantry, including elaborate table settings and platters, and a leather book with a feather quill pen tucked inside its cover. Conservators will attempt to read any notes that might have been made in this journal. Investigation of the officers’ cabins revealed a set of drafting implements thought to have belonged to 2nd Lt. Henry Thomas Dundas le Vesconte, who was in charge of mapmaking for the expedition. The officers’ personal chests also remain in the cabins. For more on the discovery of Erebus, go to "Franklin's Last Voyage."
