The Naked Truth: Copper Hull Sheathing and HMS Erebus and HMS Terror

In 1967, pieces of crumpled copper hull sheathing were found at Tajarnirřuaq (O’Reilly Island), in the Kitikmeot Region of Nunavut, Canada. This area is where 19th century Inuit reported the sinking of either HMS Erebus or HMS Terror from Sir John Franklin’s 1845 expedition. It remained a tantalizing question for almost 50 years thereafter if the sheathing came from either ship and pointed to the presence of a nearby wreck. While Franklin’s ships were ultimately not sheathed, it serves as a starting point for a wider discussion of a class of shipboard material culture relevant to current and future Arctic shipwreck studies. This paper traces the case of the Tajarnirřuaq sheathing, presenting historical, archaeological, and metallurgical evidence about Erebus, Terror and other vessels operating in Arctic waters from 1818–85.