Endurance:
Shackleton's lost ship is found in Antarctic
Scientists have found and filmed one of the
greatest ever undiscovered shipwrecks 107 years after it sank.
The
Endurance, the lost vessel of Antarctic explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton, was
found at the weekend at the bottom of the Weddell Sea. The ship was crushed by
sea-ice and sank in 1915, forcing Shackleton and his men to make an astonishing escape
on foot and in small boats. Video of the remains show Endurance to be in
remarkable condition.
Even though
it has been sitting in 3km (10,000ft) of water for over a century, it looks
just like it did on the November day it went down. Its timbers, although disrupted, are
still very much together, and the name - Endurance - is clearly visible on the
stern. "Without any exaggeration this is the finest wooden shipwreck I
have ever seen - by far," said marine archaeologist Mensun Bound, who is
on the discovery expedition and has now fulfilled a dream ambition in his near 50-year career. "It
is upright, well proud of the seabed, intact, and in a brilliant state of
preservation," he told BBC News. The project to find the lost ship was
mounted by the Falklands
Maritime Heritage Trust (FMHT), using a South African icebreaker,
Agulhas II, and equipped with remotely operated submersibles. The mission's leader,
the veteran polar geographer Dr John Shears, described the moment cameras
landed on the ship's name as "jaw-dropping". "The discovery of
the wreck is an incredible achievement," he added. "We have
successfully completed the world's most difficult shipwreck search, battling
constantly shifting sea-ice, blizzards, and temperatures dropping down to -18C.
We have achieved what many people said was impossible."
Where
was the ship found?
Endurance
was spotted in the Weddell Sea at a depth of 3,008m. For over two weeks, the
subs had combed a predefined search area, investigating various
interesting targets, before finally uncovering the wreck site on Saturday - the
100th anniversary of Shackleton's funeral. The days since the discovery have been
spent making a detailed photographic record of the timbers and surrounding debris field.
The
wreck itself is a designated monument under the international Antarctic Treaty
and must not be disturbed in any way. No physical artefacts have
therefore been brought to the surface.
What
could the subs see?
The
ship looks much the same as when photographed for the last time by Shackleton's
filmmaker, Frank Hurley, in 1915. The masts are down, the rigging is in a tangle, but the hull is broadly coherent. Some
damage is evident at the bow, presumably where the descending ship hit the
seabed. The anchors are present. The subs even spied some boots and crockery. "You
can even see the ship's name - E N D U R A N C E - arced across its stern
directly below the taffrail (a hand rail near the stern). And beneath,
as bold as brass, is Polaris, the five-pointed star, after which the ship was
originally named," said Mensun Bound. "I tell you, you would have to
be made of stone not to feel a bit squishy at the sight of that star and the name
above," he added. "You can see a porthole that is Shackleton's cabin. At that moment,
you really do feel the breath of the great man upon the back of your
neck."
LIST
OF VOCABULARY
|
NO
|
ENGLISH
|
INDONESIA
|
|
1.
|
Astonishing
|
Mengherankan
|
|
2.
|
Disrupted
|
Terganggu
|
|
3.
|
Exaggeration
|
berlebihan
|
|
4.
|
Shipwreck
|
Kecelakaan kapal
|
|
5.
|
Fulfilled
|
Terpenuhi
|
|
6.
|
Seabed
|
Dasar laut
|
|
7.
|
Submersibles
|
kapal selam
|
|
8.
|
Predefined
|
ditentukan sebelumnya
|
|
9.
|
Funeral
|
Pemakaman
|
|
10.
|
Debris
|
Puing
|
|
11.
|
Artefacts
|
Artefak
|
|
12.
|
Masts
|
tiang
|
|
13.
|
Porthole
|
Jendela kapal
|
|
14.
|
rigging
|
laberang
|
|
15.
|
Tangle
|
Menjerat
|
|
16.
|
Crockery
|
Balapecah
|
|
17.
|
Beneath
|
Di bawah
|
|
18.
|
Squishy
|
licin
|
