Scientists have found the wreck of Antarctic explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton's legendary ship.
The Endurance sank over 107 years ago, and has since been considered one of human history's most iconic undiscovered shipwrecks... Until now.
As reported by BBC News, the legendary ship was found at the bottom of the Weddell Sea, off the coast of the Antarctic Peninsula.
In 1915, the vessel was crushed by sea ice and disappeared into the cold depths. Shakleton and his men made a remarkable escape in small boats and on foot, spending months on the floating sea ice before they finally managed to escape to Elephant Island.
Video footage of the Endurance's remains shows it to be in astonishingly good condition, despite having been sitting in 10,000ft of water for over a century.
The wooden timbers are very much intact, the masts are down, and the rigging is tangled as it was the day the ship sank. Scientists and historians could even see boots and crockery from their submarines, as well as the ship's name 'Endurance' painted clearly on its stern.
Marine archaeologist Mensun Bound - who helped lead the discovery expedition - told BBC that the wreck was: "without any exaggeration, this is the finest wooden shipwreck I have ever seen - by far."
"It is upright, well proud of the seabed, intact, and in a brilliant state of preservation," 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."
The search for the lost shipwreck was launched by the Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust (FMHT) using a South African icebreaker, Agulhas II, equipped with remotely operable submersibles.
A team combed the search area for over two weeks before finally uncovering the wreck at a depth of 9868.766 feet on Saturday - the 100th anniversary of Shakleton's funeral.
As a designated monument under the International Antarctic Treaty, the wreck must not be disturbed in any way, and no physical artifacts can be brought to the surface. However, scientists have taken detailed photo and video footage of the sunken ship.
Mission leader and veteran polar geographer Dr. John Shears described the moment they first saw the ship's name as "jaw-dropping" and said that "the discovery of the wreck is an incredible achievement".
"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," he added.
