# Franklin's Lost Expedition - Found **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 9, 2014, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/franklins-lost-expedition-found/697980 "2014-09-09T17:39:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2019, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/franklins-lost-expedition-found/697980/61 "2019-08-29T00:34:10Z")
Thanks for posting this! ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2019, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/franklins-lost-expedition-found/697980/62 "2019-08-29T02:37:00Z")
> [@Morgyn](#): > > Are those intact China plates? And bottles! Wow. My thought exactly! ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2019, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/franklins-lost-expedition-found/697980/63 "2019-08-29T03:32:27Z")
Very cool. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Ale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Ale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ale)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2019, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/franklins-lost-expedition-found/697980/64 "2019-08-29T05:03:31Z")
Are there any plans to recover the ship? It looks almost intact. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2019, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/franklins-lost-expedition-found/697980/65 "2019-08-29T05:23:55Z")
I saw this on the evening news. Fascinating video, and everything is so well preserved. I hope that they can recover some artifacts. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2019, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/franklins-lost-expedition-found/697980/66 "2019-08-29T05:47:44Z")
> [@Ale](#): > > Are there any plans to recover the ship? It looks almost intact. I would highly doubt it for a number of reasons: it looks fragile to me, the logistics of getting ships and equipment there isn’t easy, but most of all the ships belong to Canada but also to the Inuit people. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2019, 8:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/franklins-lost-expedition-found/697980/67 "2019-08-29T08:48:59Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > I would highly doubt it for a number of reasons: it looks fragile to me, the logistics of getting ships and equipment there isn’t easy, but most of all the ships belong to Canada but also to the Inuit people. Still though, this is the kind of thing you could create a national museum around. And leaving it in place just means that sooner or later someone will find a way to rob it and gray-market the stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2019, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/franklins-lost-expedition-found/697980/68 "2019-08-30T02:58:25Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > … but also to the Inuit people. I’m curious: by what legal principle do the Inuit people share ownership? ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2019, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/franklins-lost-expedition-found/697980/69 "2019-08-30T03:02:00Z")
> [@kopek](#): > > … this is the kind of thing you could create a national museum around. No doubt it could make an impressive display. But in view of the remote location and difficult weather, the salvage cost would be eye-watering. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2019, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/franklins-lost-expedition-found/697980/70 "2019-08-30T03:09:06Z")
Here’s CNN on the latest dive down to HMS _Terror_: [Frozen shipwreck reveals new details of John Franklin's tragic 1845 Arctic voyage | CNN](https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/canada-shipwreck-franklin-scli-intl/index.html) ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2019, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/franklins-lost-expedition-found/697980/71 "2019-08-30T03:21:06Z")
> [@Xema](#): > > I’m curious: by what legal principle do the Inuit people share ownership? > **[Canada, Britain formalize agreement on Franklin expedition wrecks | CBC News](https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/franklin-expedition-hms-erebus-terror-1.4636222)** > > Canada and Britain announced a formal agreement today on the remains of the Franklin Expedition, discovered on the Arctic seabed in 2014 and 2016. ---
**Author:** ![bonzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/45deac/32.png) [@bonzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bonzer)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2019, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/franklins-lost-expedition-found/697980/72 "2019-08-30T20:12:01Z")
Since this has been bumped, I may as well take the opportunity to recommend Michael Palin’s recent book _Erebus_. It mainly concentrates on the Ross expedition to the Antarctic, but the last few chapters go through the Franklin expedition and rediscovery. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2019, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/franklins-lost-expedition-found/697980/73 "2019-08-30T20:19:57Z")
The best book on the Franklin expedition IMO is _[Frozen in Time](https://www.amazon.com/Frozen-Time-Fate-Franklin-Expedition/dp/1771641738)_, which first got me interested in the whole story many years ago. It was originally written before either of the ships were found (but after some of the bodies were found and exhumed) but has been updated since. I’m fascinated by the possibility that actual preserved documents within the ships may shed authoritative light on many yet-known aspects of what happened, although we do know in broad terms about the severe cold and severe icing conditions and the lead poisoning from defective canned goods. Franklin just happened to pick a time to navigate the Northwest Passage during which the Arctic was experiencing some of the coldest temperatures in recorded history. ---
**Author:** ![bonzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/45deac/32.png) [@bonzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bonzer)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2019, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/franklins-lost-expedition-found/697980/74 "2019-08-31T01:48:22Z")
Well, I did describe _Frozen In Time_ as a “classic” way back in 2014 in this very thread. I last reread it ahead of seeing the big National Maritime Museum exhibition in Greenwich a couple of years ago, which I believe had previously run in Canada. The NMM inherited all the stuff recovered in the 19th century searches, so the gobsmackingly good assembly of stuff. Most amusing incident was a child wandering into the room devoted to the exhumations from Beechey Island. Obviously oblivious to all the warning signs. As one familiar with _Frozen In Time_, I knew what was on display, so I just stood back and watched the boy’s reaction. Who was obviously transfixed. So pretty sad when his mother swept in and dragged him out on the grounds that “You’re not meant to see this”. True enough - and I personally find the photos in question somewhat disturbing - I was still somewhat disappointed. His interested reaction was probably more honest than his mother’s. ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2019, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/franklins-lost-expedition-found/697980/75 "2019-08-31T05:40:01Z")
The book “Lost Explorers” carries a chapter on the Franklin expedition. It also states two letters from a member of the expedition were found. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2019, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/franklins-lost-expedition-found/697980/76 "2019-08-31T12:52:27Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > [https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/franklin-expedition-hms-erebus-terror-1.4636222](https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/franklin-expedition-hms-erebus-terror-1.4636222) I’m not sure it’s especially helpful to respond to a question with a bare link to a long-ish article that doesn’t really offer an answer - though I will grant that the article is interesting. It does say: That international law clearly recognizes Britain’s ownership of the wrecks. That an agreement has been worked out by which ownership is transferred to Canada. That the government of Nunavut asserted a claim of ownership, but this was nullified by Canada declaring the area a National Historic Site. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2019, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/franklins-lost-expedition-found/697980/77 "2019-09-02T06:56:50Z")
> [@Xema](#): > > I’m not sure it’s especially helpful to respond to a question with a bare link to a long-ish article that doesn’t really offer an answer - though I will grant that the article is interesting. > > It does say: > That international law clearly recognizes Britain’s ownership of the wrecks. > That an agreement has been worked out by which ownership is transferred to Canada. > That the government of Nunavut asserted a claim of ownership, but this was nullified by Canada declaring the area a National Historic Site. But there’s also this: > [@](#): > > The wrecks of HMS Erebus and HMS Terror, along with any yet-to-be-discovered artifacts, will be formally transferred to Canada and the Inuit Heritage Trust. That’s the basis for the Inuit to be involved - the wrecks be owned by both the federal government and the Heritage Trust. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/franklins-lost-expedition-found/697980.md?page=3)