One Year since the discovery of the shipwreck ENDURANCE.
The story of this wreck is exciting but not with out controversy
The discovery of the ship Endurance is a significant event for historians, explorers, and the general public alike. This ship is famous for its role in Sir Ernest Shackleton’s Antarctic expedition of 1914-1917, which is widely regarded as one of the most remarkable feats of endurance and survival in human history. The story of the Endurance and its crew is one of determination, bravery, and perseverance, and it continues to inspire people to this day.
The discovery of the ship in early 2022 was made possible by modern technology, including satellite imagery and underwater drones. The Endurance had been lost in the Weddell Sea off the coast of Antarctica for more than a century, and until recently, no one knew exactly where it had sunk. The discovery of the wreck is a testament to the incredible skills of the search team and the power of modern technology to uncover hidden secrets of the past.
The Endurance was launched in August 1914, just a few months before the outbreak of World War I. Shackleton’s plan was to lead a team of explorers across the continent of Antarctica, from the Weddell Sea to the Ross Sea, via the South Pole. The journey was expected to take about two years, and the Endurance was specially designed to withstand the harsh conditions of the Antarctic winter. However, the ship became trapped in the ice and was eventually crushed and sunk, leaving the crew stranded on the ice for months.
The story of Shackleton and his crew is one of incredible courage and resourcefulness. After the Endurance was lost, the crew was forced to camp on the ice for several months, enduring freezing temperatures, harsh winds, and constant danger from the surrounding ice floes. They eventually managed to make their way to Elephant Island, a remote and uninhabited island off the coast of Antarctica. Shackleton and a small team then set out on a perilous journey in a lifeboat to reach a whaling station on South Georgia Island, some 800 miles away. After several weeks at sea, they finally reached their destination, and Shackleton was able to organize a rescue mission for his remaining crew members.
The story of the Endurance and its crew is a powerful reminder of the resilience of the human spirit in the face of adversity. Despite the incredible challenges they faced, the crew never lost hope and never gave up on their mission. They relied on their skills, their ingenuity, and their courage to overcome the many obstacles that stood in their way. The discovery of the ship Endurance serves as a tribute to their bravery and a testament to the enduring power of the human spirit.
So what is controversial about the discovery of Shackleton’s endurance? To begin with, who gets to determine what happens to the site now? Several different things come into play here. Mainly who owns this wreck?
The owner could be a nation, in this case, England, if the ship was the nation’s flagship. This is why military vessels still belong to the country of origin, even Hundreds of years later. It can be the insurance company that paid off the owner of the ship, if that company still exists, or if any insurance was taken out and if the claim was filed and paid out. In other cases, the owner is the person who discovers the wreck but only in some cases and generally only in international waters. Each nation has its own rules for what happens in the waters that they govern.
Antarctica is governed differently from all parts of the world. The Antarctic treaty assigned in 1959 states that Antarctica shall be used for peaceful purposes only, and it also provides for free and cooperative scientistic investigation on and around the frozen continent at the time of signing, seven different countries had territorial claims to the region, but under the treaty, no country can assert a claim or territorial sovereignty in Antarctica despite this law strong legal foundation cultural heritage provides an opportunity for nations, in this case, Britain to assert their past as well as their intended future presence in the region.
As time has gone on, more countries have signed on to this agreement however, at the 2019 annual meeting, the UK successfully proposed the Endurance wreck as a historical site despite knowing its location and the state of it at the time. They did this after learning of the plans of an NGO to search for the wreck. The UK said it wanted to confirm the protection status of the vessel in the event that it was located. So last year, the endurance 22 expedition, which was backed by the Falcons Maritime Heritage Trust, located the wreck the UK had already effectively designated itself as the site manager. The site includes the personal possessions within and all the artifacts lying in the seabed nearby, the UK also stated that nothing should not be moved or disturbed and only be photographed. This is in accordance to the strict heritage guidelines it put into place, this is also aligns with the wishes of Shackleton’s granddaughter, who says that there should be no rummaging and whatever is there should stay there.
In addition to the territorial claims on the ship that are complicated because territory generally speaks to the water of a country, but this is below the territory at the seafloor. There’s also a challenge proposed by the United Nations conventions law of the sea, that sets out that archaeological and historical objects found at the sea should be protected. To make matters even more complicated the ship used to search for the wreck was provided by South Africa while the funding was provided primarily by UK private and commercial sources. South Africa has signed on to the convention with the UK agreeing to abide by its rules but it is not signed on. This has created a feeling of unease among the expert community who understand that even though the wreck is not currently easy to access the technological developments that allowed us to find the wreck may cause that situation to change.
In the archaeological world, the discovery of this wreck is incredibly exciting because of its preservation and its remote location. However, it is also controversial in that it falls into the question of why do we do archaeology. An extreme amount of money and resources was expended to find the location of Shackleton’s ship. Other than the novelty of finding the ship for its protection, what knowledge are we trying to gain? We have extensive information about the sinking and abandonment of the ship in the ice. We have extensive documentation about the construction of the ship as well as the methods implemented to attempt to protect it from the ice. Because Shackleton was able to save all of his crew and men, we have extensive eyewitness accounts about every aspect of the journey.
The wreck could be valuable source of information about the design and construction of ships from the early 20th century, but that knowledge is typically gained from a ship in pieces that you can see inner working. This ship is practically whole. The conditions and challenges faced by explorers in the Antarctic region could also be explored, but again we have lots of eye witness accounts. The discovery of the wreck will undoubtedly lead to new insights and discoveries about this fascinating period in human history but in what capacity is the question.
So while the discoverer of the endurance is incredibly exciting because it utilizes the most up-to-date technology to explore the sea floor in the most remote and hostile environment in which ships wreck, it does beg the question: is this archaeology or is this treasure hunting or is this exploration? If it’s all three of those things, is this archaeology for the sake of archaeology?
One particular question that I have as a maritime archaeologist observing this is done we need to continue to look for archaeological sites that glorify the heroism or accomplishments of one single person furthermore, if we’re going to expend an incredible amount of resources to find a ship like the endurance perhaps rather than including lots of members of the media and TV personalities on board we could include more scientists in addition to the archaeologists and historians to take the opportunity to visit remote areas such as this and collect data on things that affect not only archaeological sites but also that affect humans on a grander scale such as climate change.
At the end of the day, I worry about the endurance; like many other shipwrecks are going to be utilized by people to “get rich”. Like with other searches for shipwrecks that supposedly hold treasure or that could supposedly make someone a millionaire overnight, that doesn’t happen. This is a huge misconception that people have, that is totally unfounded and while those searching for the endurance were not seeking treasures as in and gold there is already several commercial endeavors that are taking place around its discovery. There are plans to build a replica of the endurance. The leader behind the effort of this replica while saying that he loves exploration has also flat out stated that he would also love to use this opportunity to ‘fund his childhood vision of building a 5 bedroom penthouse apartment with heated outdoor swimming pool’ his dream is to be stranded in the wild but with ‘hints of absolute absorbent luxury’. To me that says that this is not actually about celebrating exploration or history but is again a commercial pursuit to make money off of something.
