The ship beneath the ice: the discovery of Shackleton's Endurance

In 1914, only three years after Norwegian Roald Amundsen beat Robert Falcon Scott to the South Pole, Ernest Shackleton led an expedition to make the first land crossing of Antarctica; it was to end in near catastrophe as his ship, the Endurance, became trapped in the Weddell Sea ice, crushed and sank. What happened next became one the most incredible feats of leadership and survival in modern history, as Shackleton eventually guided all 27 of his crew to safety. In 2022, the Endurance was found by the Endurance22 search team, after an earlier unsuccessful expedition. Lying over 3 kilometres deep, the freezing temperatures had kept her amazingly well preserved. This talk, by Director of Exploration, Mensun Bound, describes the challenges, frustrations and success of finding the historic wreck. He tells us more about the iconic ship and previously untold stories from Shackleton's voyage over 100 years ago.

About the speaker

Mensun Bound, FRGS, was born in the Falkland Islands, and is a former Fellow in Maritime Archaeology at Oxford University. He has conducted wreck exploration for over 40 years, including one of the oldest known, an Etruscan vessel from 600BCE, and the German battleship Scharnhorst, as well as the deepest ever archaeological excavation of a 15th century porcelain ship off Hoi An in Vietnam. Bound was Director of Exploration to Antarctica on two searches for Shackleton's ship, Endurance, one of the most famous ships in history, and it was found in March 2022 by the team 3000 meters under the ice. The journey to find the Endurance is chronicled in his book, The ship beneath the sea, the discovery of Shackleton's Endurance.

Booking information

Advance booking for this event is required. Tickets are £7.50, £5 for students and free for RGS-IBG members. Students can book discounted tickets by using the code STUDENT5 at checkout. Please book by midday on Wednesday 30 October. If you have any questions or require assistance with your booking, please email [email protected]

Others Details

Category: Attractions | Talks and Lectures Artist / Speaker: Mensun Bound