Scientists have identified the remains of four sailors from Sir John Franklin’s doomed 1845 Arctic expedition using DNA analysis, shedding new light on one of the most enduring mysteries of polar exploration.
According to researchers from the University of Waterloo, DNA extracted from skeletal remains recovered in the Canadian Arctic was matched with genetic samples from living descendants. The findings confirm the identities of four additional crew members, bringing the total number of identified sailors from the expedition to six, News.Az reports, citing Scientific American.
The Franklin expedition set out in 1845 with two ships, HMS Erebus and HMS Terror, in an attempt to find the Northwest Passage. After becoming trapped in ice near King William Island, all 129 crew members eventually died during a failed attempt to escape across the Arctic terrain.
Among the newly identified sailors is Harry Peglar, a member of HMS Terror, whose identity had been debated for more than a century due to conflicting archaeological evidence found at the site. Three other sailors identified in the study served aboard HMS Erebus and were found in the Erebus Bay area.
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