New images rendered from over 25,000 photographic scans made on the 2022 expedition to rediscover HMS Endurance have been released in celebration of a new documentary from National Geographic and the Falklands Heritage Maritime Trust.

After more than 100 years submerged under the icy waters of Antarctica, a series of new images have revealed Ernest Shackleton’s ship, HMS Endurance, in a ‘remarkable state of preservation’ to a stunning new level of detail down to the very boots worn by crew members.

The famed vessel found its final resting place three kilometres below the surface of the Weddell Sea when it sank in Antarctica in 1915 having become stuck in pack ice. It was an event that  forced its crew to embark upon one of the most celebrated survival quests in history.​

An ancient bronze dagger associated with a sophisticated, extinct civilization has been found in the depths of the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Turkey.

The dagger, which features silver rivets, is thought to be around 3,600 years old. It was uncovered during underwater excavations conducted by a team from Akdeniz University, located in Antalya Province.

The excavations took place off the coast of Kumluca district in Antalya, which lies in the south of Turkey, the country's Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy announced on social media.

"A 3,600-year-old secret from the depths of the Mediterranean has come to light," Ersoy said in a post on Facebook.

​"I would like to thank the teams of Akdeniz University and the Department of Excavations and Research for their meticulous work in unearthing the traces of civilizations hidden in the depths of the Mediterranean," he said.

Greetings, and welcome to your latest 1421 update!
This month:

• Celebrating China's Maritime day, today!
• Ian Hudson travels to Hong Kong
• Menzies Memorial Scholar update
• Baby Buddha auction

The Australian “Baby Buddha”, a significant archaeological find in regional Western Australia back in 2018, has had us enthralled for the last 6 years. This solid bronze and gold-gilt Ming Dynasty Infant Buddha, unearthed by metal detectorists near Denham in Shark Bay, is now preparing for a historic journey back to its ancestral roots in China.

Cargo from the remains of the oldest shipwreck to be found in the deep sea has been discovered in the eastern Mediterranean, Israeli archaeologists have said. Hundreds of intact amphorae - ancient storage jars - believed to be 3,300 years old, were discovered 90km (56 miles) off the northern coast of Israel at a depth of 1,800m (5,905ft) on the sea bed.

Experts at the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) say the discovery suggests sailors of the period were able to navigate the oceans by using celestial navigation - taking bearings from the sun and stars. The wreck was found during a routine oil and gas survey.

Greetings, dear friends and supporters!

“…On 8th March, 1421, the largest fleet the world had ever seen set sail from China. The ships, some nearly five hundred feet long, were under the command of Emperor Zhu Di's loyal eunuch admirals. Their mission was 'to proceed all the way to the end of the earth to collect tribute from the barbarians beyond the seas' and unite the world in Confucian harmony…”

Today, 603 years later, on this auspicious occasion of “1421 day”, we are excited to share our journey and the strides we've made during our respite.​

Research

In recent years, our commitment to unveiling the mysteries of ancient maritime exploration has deepened. The 1421 Foundation has been delving into historical records, maritime logs, and collaborating with leading scholars to enrich our understanding of Zheng He and other early explorers’ voyages and their impact on global discovery. Our research has uncovered new evidence that redefines the boundaries of ancient maritime exploration, shedding light on the technological prowess and navigational skills of early explorers. In 2024, we aim to explore an updated version 1421 - adding to it, and strengthening the hypothesis - with a great deal more evidence and new lines of thinking.

Do you want to join or donate to this effort, and become a published author?

​by Liza Lester, American Geophysical Union

​One of the hottest debates in archaeology is how and when humans first arrived in North America. Archaeologists have traditionally argued that people walked through an ice-free corridor that briefly opened between ice sheets an estimated 13,000 years ago.

But a growing number of archaeological and genetic finds—including human footprints in New Mexico dated to around 23,000 years old—suggests that people made their way onto the continent much earlier. These early Americans likely traveled along the Pacific coastline from Beringia, the land bridge between Asia and North America that emerged during the last glacial maximum when ice sheets bound up large amounts of water causing sea levels to fall.

Now, in research to be presented Friday, 15 December at the American Geophysical Union Annual Meeting (AGU23) in San Franciso, paleoclimate reconstructions of the Pacific Northwest hint that sea ice may have been one way for people to move farther south.