Race against time to unlock secrets of Erebus shipwreck and doomed Arctic expedition

Hundreds of discoveries made on Sir John Franklin's ships, but storm damage makes wrecks increasingly dangerous

Archaeologists have made hundreds of new finds on the wreck of HMS Erebus, the ship commanded by Sir John Franklin on his doomed Arctic trip 180 years ago.

The team's discoveries include pistols, sealed bottles of medicines, seamen's chests and navigation equipment. These are now being studied for clues to explain the loss of the Erebus and its sister ship Terror, and the deaths of the 129 men who sailed on them.