“Archaeology and Conservation of the Heroic Era Explorations Bases on Ross Island, Antarctica,” lecture by Susanne Grieve.

The Antarctic continent has presented challenges to mankind since early whaling vessels and discovery expeditions began investigating her shores in the early 1800’s. The Antarctic Heritage Trust, a New Zealand based non-profit, is responsible for the archaeology and preservation of four heroic era expedition bases constructed on Ross Island in Antarctica.

The bases consist of pre-fabricated huts that were brought down on expedition ships and man-hauled to the shore. Carsten Borchgrevink’s Southern Cross Expedition (1898-1900) constructed several hut structures at Cape Adare and most notably achieved the first winter-over season on the continent.

The second journey to the region was conducted by Captain Robert Falcon Scott on the Discovery Expedition (1901-1904) where a hut was constructed on Hut Point in an Australian outback layout. Returning to lead the Nimrod Expedition (1907-1909), Sir Ernest Shackleton, directed the construction of a hut and scientific observation points at Cape Royds.

The fourth and final exploration base was constructed by the Terra Nova Expedition (1910-1913) led by Captain Robert Falcon Scott at Cape Evans from which he successfully explored the South Pole. In 2002, the Ross Sea Heritage Restoration Project was launched in an effort to document and preserve these rare historic monuments. This lecture will discuss the archaeological and conservation challenges that the bases present.

Susanne Grieve graduated with a BA from the University of West Florida in Anthropology, specializing in underwater archaeology and conservation. After finishing her undergraduate work, she completed an internship with the Clemson Conservation Center, where she focused on conserving the wood and leather materials from the CSS Hunley submarine. Susanne then completed a master’s degree in conservation at the University College London and joined the staff at The Mariners’ Museum in Virginia later becoming a Senior Conservator on the USS Monitor project. During that time, she traveled to Antarctica for seven months to complete conservation on the early explorer’s huts with the Antarctic Heritage Trust.

Susanne is currently the Director of Conservation for the Program in Maritime Studies in the History Department at East Carolina University. She is an objects conservator who specializes in waterlogged organic archaeological materials, but frequently preserves other types of historical materials, conducts workshops on preservation, oversees field conservation, and performs condition surveys on a variety of collections.