Artifacts Divers Unearth From Doomed Shipwreck Are Raising Serious Questions

Artifacts Divers Unearthed From Doomed Shipwreck Are Raising Serious Questions But before we start, please make sure to subscribe to MNR TV, and hit the bell so you never miss any upload from us! Also, leave a like, right now! Huddled in groups aboard two ships, the HMS Euribus and the HMS Terror, were 129 passengers ready to weather the brutal cold and crashing waves of the merciless ocean. To say the mood aboard the ship was one soaked in fear was a gross understatement. The ship's mission was to find and explore the Northwest Passage, however little did the crew know their 1845 voyage out of England was doomed from the very beginning. What exactly transpired aboard these expeditions, however, continued to stump modern day researchers. Of course, the 129-man crew aboard the ship, an expedition known as the Franklin Expedition, had no idea they'd go down in history in such a horrific way. But they still knew the mission was a huge risk. The plan was to sail into the Arctic and explore the part of the Northwest Passage no one had yet traversed, but the captain of the ship was a seasoned sailor who'd completed three previous expeditions. He was a Royal Navy officer named Sir John Franklin, and because he had such an accomplished resume, the men aboard, although scared, knew they were in good hands. Or so they thought. Despite Franklin's guidance, the ships became icebound in the Canadian Arctic, and the crew perished. That's all we know. How they died and what their final moments looked like completely baffled researchers. Over the years, plenty of research teams visited the area where the men disappeared to excavate whatever belongings or bodies were there, and they found plenty of interesting clues, but no answers. For instance, this cross made out of old tin cans on Beachy Island in Nunavut, Canada, is a memorial to honor all the sailors who never returned home. Teams found additional evidence of what happened on that voyage. Coffins filled with the deceased. Believe it or not, some of the corpses, because of the frigid temperatures, were still perfectly intact. Researchers, though, were not satisfied. There was more evidence they knew of what went wrong and how. Even when a Canadian team exploring the shallow gulf in the Arctic found the remains of the In 2014, and then the terror two years later, a man named Marc-Andre Bernier wanted more. Bernier was the head of underwater archaeology at Parks Canada, and although he was obviously ecstatic both vessels were located, he wanted to explore inside and find whatever treasures and answers, if any at all, were still salvageable. In 2019, the Parks Canada and Inuit team spent one month, mid-August to mid-September, taking their time to carefully go through the remains of the Erebus, searching for clues. But it wasn't easy. Any time a team of divers is dealing with a sunken ship that spent over 100 years eroding, there are plenty of hazards to face. But Bernier loved this stuff, and he knew exactly how to tackle the investigation most efficiently. Bernier said, Sure enough, over the course of 93 dives, the team was astonished by what they found. The diver here is holding a glass decanter that was lodged in the sand and seaweed. Look at this stack of plates the crew members used to eat their meals on. Truly incredible stuff. But Bernier was completely blown away by something found in a small tin box. These epaulets were in one of the drawers in the lieutenant's room, and Bernier couldn't believe they remained in pristine condition for so long. And there was still so much more to discover. The most exhilarating items were the ones that could potentially be linked to actual people, as opposed to just things that belonged to the vessel. This hairbrush, for example, still had a few pieces of hair attached. Because the water in the Arctic causes hypothermia to set in quickly, the divers could only spend 90 minutes at a time exploring, which meant they planned on taking hundreds of more trips until the entire ship was explored. Bernier couldn't wait to work his way through all 20 of the Erebus cabins. He knew that experts were constantly better understanding history by being thorough in their underwater expeditions. Beneath the calm waters of Cape Cod in Massachusetts, there is a massive secret, one that lay hidden for hundreds of years, but it didn't stay that way forever. It is the Wreck of the Wida, a massive ship built to hold 150 men and several hundred tons of cargo. It was missing off the coast of New England in 1717, and many assumed it was lost forever. However, explorer Barry Clifford discovered the wreck of the Wida in 1984, and he has been digging up artifacts from the site ever since. His exploits make him one of the greatest treasure hunters of all times. Barry has long been on the hunt for a treasure that will make him a legend. He once believed he found the remnants of the Santa Maria from Christopher Columbus' original 1492 voyage, but tests later determined it was a different vessel. The Wida, however, was a monumental find. It was the flagship of one of history's greatest pirates, Black Sam Bellamy. This captain was known as the Robin Hood of the Sea, and for good reason. For one thing, Bellamy only targeted wealthy merchants and tried to use as little violence as possible. His crew members received equal pay and respect, even those who were Native Americans or former slaves. In fact, the Wida was originally the property of slave traders until Bellamy seized it by force and freed the captives aboard. Most famously, Bellamy pulled off the biggest heist in pirate history. Historians estimate that he plundered the modern equivalent of $120 million throughout his career. These daring exploits made Bellamy one of the most talked-about pirates of his time. He rose above his criminal origins to become a bona fide folk hero. Unfortunately, Bellamy didn't have much time to enjoy his success. A massive storm sank the Wida, claiming untold amounts of treasure and most of the crew, including Bellamy himself. Centuries later, Clifford and his colleagues have unearthed countless relics and treasures from the wreck and they established the Wida Pirate Museum to share Bellamy's story. Even though Clifford's team had been studying this site for decades, he still felt like they were only scratching the surface. Then, one diving mission in late 2016 changed everything. The explorers located a large chunk of debris from the Wida that had many artifacts trapped inside of it. They hauled it up to dry land for a closer look. It presented a virtual treasure trove with genuine coins and seafaring equipment jutting through the rough surface. But this motherlode contained one thing the scientists didn't expect to find. Human bones. They came across a femur just a short distance away from what appeared to be Bellamy's pistol. Could it be the remains of the late great captain himself? Clifford knew they needed proof so he recruited a team of forensic scientists. They extracted DNA from the bone and compared it to that of one of Bellamy's descendants in the United Kingdom. At last, the results came in. But it was not a match. This bone likely belonged to an anonymous crew member, but certainly not to Captain Bellamy. The elusive Black Sam slipped away from authorities once again. The bad news sunk Clifford's theory faster than the Wida. Nevertheless, the bone gave researchers the chance to learn more about the typical sailor from that era. Clifford can still take pride in his ongoing excavation of the Wida. After all, no other famous pirate ship has been studied so closely. Nobody can question his accomplishments or contributions to history. Besides, the mysteries of the Wida are still out there in the briny deep, and Bellamy's final resting place may even surface someday. All it will take is the right person to find it. The bones in this sunken wreck certainly are a shocking discovery, but the mystery continues. Take the warship Kronen. It was the crown jewel of Sweden's naval fleet in 1672. Tragically, it sank just four years later, killing nearly all 800 people on board and becoming permanently lost at sea. The Kronen was the largest ship ever built for the Swedish navy, and it served as the flagship vessel when it was completed in 1672. It took seven years to construct, and once it was finished, it sailed the seas like a multi-masted beast. The ship's luck ran out in 1676 during a maritime battle. The Kronen hit rough waters and capsized while making a sharp turn. The gunpowder on board ignited, and that was that. For 300 years, the Kronen sat peacefully at the bottom of the ocean and housed all sorts of aquatic life. Would anyone ever discover its whereabouts and gather the artifacts inside? Amazingly, in 1980, an amateur researcher named Anders Fransen discovered the shipwreck's location. The Swedish government sponsored yearly archaeological dives to collect any lost artifacts. What was hidden in the ship for so many years? The divers who went on the expedition were in awe. It was obvious the ship was used for war. Opening in the vessel's sides had old, rusted cannons protruding out. After a thorough search of the ship, it was easy to picture what the massive structure looked like sailing the high seas. There were dozens of small rooms for housing the men aboard, and each one was equipped with weaponry. The divers had special equipment used to help clear the sand and mud that accumulated on the surface areas. Buried beneath was a trove of ancient treasures. Whatever the divers recovered from the wreck was going straight into the Kalmar County Museum in Sweden. The museum had an entire Kronen exhibit ready for unveiling once they excavated the items. The dive team found an abundance of old rifles and firearms. The weapons revealed fascinating information about 17th century warfare. Information that experts may not have even known. After the guns were excavated, researchers cleaned off the grime and rust so they looked like new. Now they sit on display at the Kalmar Museum. But firearms weren't the only amazing things found. They also found objects that spoke more to everyday life in the 1600s, like musical instruments including violins and trumpets. The people on board the ship needed forms of entertainment, and playing tunes certainly helped pass the time at sea. One of the expeditions came across this pristine gold ring. Can you believe after 300 years at the bottom of the ocean, the gem inside still has a sparkle to it? This looks like something straight out of a Tiffany's display case. When the Kronen sank, it was carrying loads of gold and silver coins, and the divers found an abundance of them among the rubble. It was Sweden's largest coin discovery ever, with coins minted in Sweden, Egypt, Syria and even Turkey. One of the most important things they found was a wooden plaque with the name of the ship sprawled across it. It may not have been worth as much as the gold and silver, but this plaque was an intact part of history, and equally as important as everything else. The Kalmar County Museum was more than ecstatic to display all of Kronen's lost treasure. However, they had no idea that the most interesting item was yet to be found. Just when researchers thought they unearthed nearly everything of importance, one of them came across this black tin jar nestled in the mud. And it was heavy. More gold and silver coins, perhaps? When scientists finally pried open the can, they were overwhelmed by a pungent smell. They stared at the grayish lump of mush, and suddenly it hit them. It was some kind of preserved cheese product. They described the smell as a mix of yeast and roquefort cheese. During the era when the Kronen was built, cheese was a real status symbol. It separated the rich from the poor. In this case, however, the cheese was well past its prime. No one intended to add this Kronen cheese to a gourmet cheese plate anytime soon. But just the fact that it was still in relatively good condition stunned everyone. Where's Andrew Zimmern when you need him? He'd probably give this a taste. The Kronen cheese sits on display at the museum along with the rest of the findings. Since the ship was discovered in 1980, diving teams have collected over 30,000 artifacts. The Kronen discovery proves that sometimes great men find shipwrecks, but other times great shipwrecks find men.