This article is over 5 years old and may contain outdated information.

History

Bell from HMS Erebus recovered

  • Nov 05, 2014
  • 419 words
  • 2 minutes
Expand Image
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

It’s had a harrowing journey, but an integral part of HMS Erebus — the ship’s bell — has been recovered, and was unveiled in Ottawa today. Parks Canada underwater archeologists found the bell resting on the ship’s upper deck on Sept. 17, 2014, the date they first dove on the wreck.

Jonathan Moore, a member of the Parks Canada Underwater Archaeology Service, was the first to spot the bell, which is intact and in good condition, nestled amid the marine life growing on the deck’s wood. Its bronze surface, while covered in a fine green patina, still clearly displays the Royal Navy “broad arrow” that marks it as property of the British government, and which also appears on the Franklin artifacts that were found on land during the 2014 Victoria Strait Expedition. The year Sir John Franklin’s Arctic expedition departed England — 1845 — is also visible. The bell was recovered the next day, during the last dive of the year.

Preserving the artifact is a delicate procedure. Because the bell has been submerged in saltwater for so long, it has to be kept wet until all the salt is removed. If it were allowed to dry too early, corrosion would set in, ruining details that have been preserved for more than 150 years. The bell was bubble-wrapped and kept wet for its three-day trip from the North and then transferred to a water-filled glass container for its unveiling.

It’s the only artifact that was removed from the wreck site this year. The fragility of the site has so far precluded the divers from entering the interior cabins. Parks Canada divers visited the site eight times over the course of two days in mid-September.

“Sailors have a spiritual connection to their ship’s bell,” said Rear Admiral John Newton of the Royal Canadian Navy after the unveiling, adding that it would have played a significant daily role in the lives of the 129 men who died on the Franklin expedition, calling them to deck and signaling time changes.

“The recovery of the bronze bell of HMS Erebus is hugely significant,” said John Geiger, the CEO of The Royal Canadian Geographical Society, which took part in this year’s search for the Franklin ships. “It represents the material heart of the ship, and it is all the more poignant by the fact that the date on it was the year Franklin sailed, with so much hope for success.”

Click on the photo below to see a slideshow:

Expand Image
Expand Image
Expand Image
Expand Image
Expand Image
Expand Image
Expand Image
Advertisement

Help us tell Canada’s story

You can support Canadian Geographic in 3 ways:

Related Content

Erebus and Terror in the Antarctic

History

The Franklin Expedition’s ships: The HMS Erebus and HMS Terror

Franklin’s ships were hardened veterans of polar travel, and technological marvels of their age

  • 312 words
  • 2 minutes
sir john franklin route arctic

Exploration

Archaeologists to resume search for Sir John Franklin’s HMS Terror

Parks Canada’s Underwater Archaeology Team is planning a reconnaissance mission of the HMS Erebus and will continue its search for HMS Terror at the end of August

  • 605 words
  • 3 minutes
Michael Palin Erebus

History

Michael Palin on the renowned polar ship Erebus

An exclusive abridged excerpt from a new book by the famed explorer, actor and comedian

  • 1335 words
  • 6 minutes
Franklin expedition epaulettes

History

Artifacts retrieved from Erebus wreck reveal snapshot of life on doomed ship

“Most successful season” of exploration since the wreck was discovered surfaces 350 artifacts from officers’ quarters

  • 809 words
  • 4 minutes
Advertisement
Advertisement