Mystery of the doomed Franklin Expedition deepens: Some of the 129 sailors who died after getting stuck in Arctic ice 170 years ago were WOMEN

  • Expedition lost 129 crew when it got stuck in sea ice around Canada in 1845
  • Since the 1980s the remains of more than 20 Royal Navy sailors have been found 
  • New DNA analysis on the bones of the final group of survivors has revealed that at least four of the crew were women

In 1845, the Franklin Expedition met a tragic ending after becoming trapped in Arctic ice, killing all 129 people on board. 

Researchers have now taken DNA from the skeletal remains of several sailors to identify who the lost souls were. 

To their surprise, they discovered that four of the crew were women - a finding that goes against previous reports suggesting an all-male trip. 

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Scientists have taken the DNA from the skeletal remains of several sailors who died after getting stuck in Arctic ice on a doomed 1845 expedition. This image shows the mummified remains of one of the expedition's doomed crew members

Scientists have taken the DNA from the skeletal remains of several sailors who died after getting stuck in Arctic ice on a doomed 1845 expedition. This image shows the mummified remains of one of the expedition's doomed crew members

FRANKLIN EXPEDITION

The expedition, consisting of two ships led by British Royal Navy captain Sir John Franklin, aimed to find a sea route linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

But the crew was condemned to an icy death after their two ships got jammed in thick sea ice in the Canadian Arctic in 1846.

The crew's final message before they were wiped out - sent April 25, 1848 - indicated that the survivors were abandoning their ships.

They left the two vessels, the HMS Erebus and HMS Terror, north of King William Island and set out on a harsh journey south toward a mainland trading post.

Judging by the bodies found so far, none of the remaining crew made it even a fifth of the way to safety.

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The women were found to have European DNA, meaning they couldn't be the remains of local Inuits.

'We were surprised by the results for those samples because in planning the analysis it hadn't occurred to us that there might have been women onboard,' study lead author Dr Douglas Stenton told Live Science.

While the results could simply be false identifications due to the age of the DNA, the researchers noted that women sometimes served in disguise in the Royal Navy.

'Some of these women were smuggled onboard [the] ship, and others disguised themselves as men and worked alongside the crew for months or years before being detected or intentionally revealing themselves to be female,' the authors wrote in their paper.

Researchers hope their new genetic database of 24 expedition members will allow them to follow the doomed crew's final moments.

The expedition, consisting of two ships led by British Royal Navy captain Sir John Franklin, aimed to find a sea route linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. But the crew was condemned to an icy death after their two ships got jammed in thick sea ice in the Canadian Arctic in 1846

The expedition, consisting of two ships led by British Royal Navy captain Sir John Franklin, aimed to find a sea route linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. But the crew was condemned to an icy death after their two ships got jammed in thick sea ice in the Canadian Arctic in 1846

The tests could reveal fresh information on where the expedition went wrong 170 years after one of the worst disasters in the history of polar exploration.

The expedition, consisting of two ships led by British Royal Navy captain Sir John Franklin, aimed to find a sea route linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

But the crew was condemned to an icy death after their two ships got jammed in thick sea ice in the Canadian Arctic in 1846.

The sailors died during the disastrous Franklin Expedition in which two vessels vanished along with all 129 people on board. This image released by Parks Canada in September 2014 shows a side-scan sonar image of HMS Erebus shipwreck on the sea floor in northern Canada

The sailors died during the disastrous Franklin Expedition in which two vessels vanished along with all 129 people on board. This image released by Parks Canada in September 2014 shows a side-scan sonar image of HMS Erebus shipwreck on the sea floor in northern Canada

Since the 1980s skulls and other remains of more than 20 sailors have been found by scientists after decades of fruitless searching in the Canadian Arctic. This skull, believed to belong to one of the crew members, was found back in 1993

Since the 1980s skulls and other remains of more than 20 sailors have been found by scientists after decades of fruitless searching in the Canadian Arctic. This skull, believed to belong to one of the crew members, was found back in 1993

The crew's final message before they were wiped out - sent April 25, 1848 - indicated that the survivors were abandoning their ships.

They left the two vessels, the HMS Erebus and HMS Terror, north of King William Island and set out on a harsh journey south toward a mainland trading post.

Judging by the bodies found so far, none of the remaining crew made it even a fifth of the way to safety.

Over the course of the next century a number of search parties made the trip to Canada to search the ice for whatever remained of the 129 lost crew members.

Scientists have begun to make ground over the past 25 years, discovering several of the Franklin Expedition sailors in boats and campsites scattered along the route.

DNA extracts of the crew's remains  suggest that some of the crew were women. John Franklin (pictured) was a British Royal Navy officer and explorer of the Arctic. He led the expedition to search for the fabled Northwest Passage, which ended in disaster

DNA extracts of the crew's remains suggest that some of the crew were women. John Franklin (pictured) was a British Royal Navy officer and explorer of the Arctic. He led the expedition to search for the fabled Northwest Passage, which ended in disaster

HMS Erebus and HMS Terror were sent out in the summer of 1845 to find the Northwest Passage but they took a crucial wrong turn and ended up stranded and surrounded by pack ice

HMS Erebus and HMS Terror were sent out in the summer of 1845 to find the Northwest Passage but they took a crucial wrong turn and ended up stranded and surrounded by pack ice

The remains are remarkably well-preserved because of the region's sub-zero temperatures.

Several of the bones found bear the signs of scurvy and some of the remains suggest that crew members may have resorted to cannibalism.

Several artefacts from the HMS Erebus have been discovered, including a bell and a tunic with buttons, have been recovered since the ship's wreck was found in 2014. 

Now scientists at Canada's northernmost territory Nunavut's Department of Culture and Heritage have carried out the first DNA tests of the array of bones of members of the long-lost expedition who died after abandoning their ships.

The ship's wheel from HMS Terror under the sea in Canada
The wreck of the HMS Terror can be clearly seen in this video

The wreck of the HMS Terror, which has been well preserved in the icy waters off Canada's King William Island. The ship's wheel (left) can be clearly seen despite being covered by barnacles and other sealife

DNA from 37 bone and tooth samples found at eight sites around King William Island were found to belong to 24 different crew members.

Twenty-one of these individuals were found at locations around Canada's Erebus Bay, 'confirming it as a location of some importance following the desertion of Erebus and Terror,' Dr Stenton said.

An illustration shows the ill-fated expedition of HMS Erebus and HMS Terror through the Northwest Passage

An illustration shows the ill-fated expedition of HMS Erebus and HMS Terror through the Northwest Passage

The DNA results give a more accurate understanding of the number of people who died at the site.

Some of the earlier fatalities were buried at Beechey Island near the original wreck and their frozen remains were discovered exceptionally well preserved in the 1980s.

But the bones of those who abandoned the ships were scattered across the region by animal scavenging and human activity.

Bones from one individual were found at two sites spread around a mile (1.7 kilometers) apart, Dr Stenton said.

The researchers believe that an 1879 search party likely found the bones and reburied them at another site.

And the team hope to one day identify the sailors and uncover exactly what happened in their final few months.

'We have been in touch with several descendants who have expressed interest in participating in further research,' Dr Stenton said.

'We hope that the publication of our initial study will encourage other descendants to also consider participating.'

THE ARCTIC EXPEDITION THAT ENDED IN THE DEATH OF ALL 130 CREWMAN  

HMS Erebus and HMS Terror were abandoned by their crews after a failed attempt to complete a crossing of the Northwest Passage - a sea route through the Arctic connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

Soldier and explorer Sir John Franklin sailed in Erebus and took overall command of the expedition.

The two state-of-the-art ships were heralded as 'unstoppable' when they were launched in 1845 under Sir John's command. 

Never before seen: The detached ship¿s bell of HMS Erebus as found on the deck next to the windlass (a kind of winch positioned near the bow)

The detached ship's bell of HMS Erebus as found on the deck next to the windlass (a kind of winch positioned near the bow) last year

They were last seen entering Baffin Bay, on the southwest coast of Greenland in August 1845.

Both ships later became icebound and were abandoned by their crews, in total about 130 men, all of whom subsequently died from a number of causes, including hypothermia, scurvy and starvation, while trying to trek overland to the south.

The disappearance of the Franklin expedition set off a massive search effort in the Arctic. 

The broad circumstances of the expedition's fate were first revealed when Hudson's Bay Company doctor John Rae collected artifacts and testimony from local Inuit in 1853. Later expeditions up to 1866 confirmed these reports.

On September 7 2014 Erebus was finally discovered near King William Island in the eastern Queen Maud Gulf, Canada, using a remotely operated underwater vehicle.

Two months later's the ship's bell was recovered from the wreckage.

For whom the bell tolls: This bronze bell was recovered by Canadian divers in September from the wreck of the HMS Erebus, which was part of Sir John Franklin¿s doomed expedition launched in 1845 in search of the Northwest Passage

This bronze bell was recovered by Canadian divers in September 2014 from the wreck of the HMS Erebus, which was part of Sir John Franklin's doomed expedition launched in 1845 in search of the Northwest Passage

Detail of embossed '1845' on the ship¿s bell of HMS Erebus, as photographed in a lab aboard the Canadian Coast Guard Ship Sir Wilfrid Laurier

Detail of embossed '1845' on the ship's bell of HMS Erebus, as photographed in a lab aboard the Canadian Coast Guard Ship Sir Wilfrid Laurier

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