Finding HMS Erebus

Since 2010, Parks Canada’s Underwater Archaeology Team (UAT) and their colleagues from various public and private organizations had been “mowing the lawn”—dragging an array of different sensors behind various small vessels in precise, controlled, and plotted lines. The collected data was stored, analyzed, and interpreted in the long months between search seasons. The two search areas are usually only free of ice from late August to early September.

In 2014, bad weather in the northern search area meant many of the search ships were concentrated in the southern area.

One of the key breakthroughs in finding HMS Erebus had come only the day before the discovery. And it was made on land, not at sea.

On September 1, Government of Nunavut archaeologists had helicoptered to a small island in the southern search area to investigate an Inuit tent ring. On the shore, pilot Andrew Stirling spotted a piece of rusted metal. It looked like the fork of a bicycle, but it turned out to be a davit pintle. This mechanism for raising and lowering small boats exactly matched one on plans of HMS Erebus.

The team, including Douglas Stenton, archaeologist and Nunavut’s director of heritage, also found a wooden deck hawse plug (a waterproofing device for a rope-hole). That evening, Stenton transported the finds to the Canada Coast Guard Ship Sir Wilfrid Laurier, the main hub of search activities. On board, the archaeologists examined the artifacts with a growing sense of excitement.

The next morning, UAT archaeologist Ryan Harris adjusted his search area based on the new finds. The team continued their lawn-mowing efforts. The wreck was found in minutes.

Once the image appeared on the sonar screen, Parks Canada team members needed to make sure the wreck was of HMS Erebus. They sent down a remotely operated vehicle to collect high-definition video images and compared them to the ship’s plans. But ice was moving in. CCGS Sir Wilfrid Laurier would soon have to move out. The team had only a few days to dive.

The first dive, which Harris described as “the best dive of my life”, verified the wreck was sitting upright on the sea bottom. The largely intact wreck loomed two storeys above the divers’ heads. Among the upper deck boards, divers found bilge pumps and anchors—and, most surprisingly, the ship’s brass bell. A “broad arrow” was clearly visible on the bell’s side. Like the marking on the davit pintle found on shore, the arrow meant the item belonged to the British government.

Documenting an archaeological site is crucial to forming a complete picture. Taking video and photographs, noting structural elements, and plotting finds on a detailed and accurate plan are all part of a thorough archaeological investigation. Moving artifacts alters a site. Knowledge can be lost, so the work is methodical. Every step is recorded.

Documenting the site of HMS Erebus was the first job of the UAT. Recovery of some select artifacts would come later.

Now that HMS Erebus’s location was known, UAT divers returned in 2015 and in 2016. In the spring of 2015, the team dove under ice, an activity requiring specialized equipment and intense preparation.

As part of this joint operation with Royal Canadian Navy divers, the team brought up several artifacts, including a cannon, dining plates, and a medicine bottle.

The 2015 August-September search season started promisingly. “I’ve never seen such a stretch of good weather in the time I’ve been working in this part of the Arctic,” said Gerry Chidley, captain of RV Martin Bergmann. This meant while survey work continued in the northern search area looking for HMS Terror, the underwater archaeologists were able to make dives to HMS Erebus over eleven days, totalling 109 hours underwater. The mission also collected and documented marine biology on and around the wreck.

In late August and early September, UAT divers returned to HMS Erebus. More sonar samples were collected around the area. The team used this time to prepare for more in-depth and complex archaeological work planned for 2017. Researchers wanted to document how much the site changed from year to year.