Discover what archaeological clues have revealed about the fate of the Franklin Expedition, handle reproduction artifacts, and try the tools used by underwater archaeologists.
During Archaeology Month, families, archaeology enthusiasts and armchair detectives can sail into the heart of a historical mystery: the fate of Sir John Franklin’s expedition to find the Northwest Passage. The disappearance of HMS Erebus and HMS Terror, last seen by Europeans in 1845 with 129 men on board, spawned an enduring Canadian mythology. Numerous search parties and scientific expeditions over the past century and a half have sought to piece together the expedition’s end, finding answers in scattered artifacts, remote graves, poorly soldered food tins, Inuit eyewitness accounts and, finally, the 2014 discovery of HMS Erebus by Canadian researchers. Handle reproductions of some of the artifacts recovered to date, and try out tools used by underwater archaeologists to explore the ship’s wreckage.
This program is organized by the Canadian Museum of History, in partnership with Parks Canada and the Royal Ontario Museum.
Photo: Parks Canada / André Bernier
Partners and Sponsors
