Archaeologists piece together how crew survived 1813 shipwreck in Alaska

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Working closely with the U.S. Forest Service and the Sitka Tribe of Alaska, an international team of researchers funded by the National Science Foundation has begun to piece together an archaeological and historical narrative of how the crew of the wrecked 19th century Russian-American Company sailing ship never survived the harsh subarctic winter.

 

"The items left behind by survivors provide a unique snapshot-in-time for January 1813, and might help us to understand the adaptations that allowed them to await rescue in a frigid, unfamiliar environment for almost a month," said Dave McMahan of the Sitka Historical Society.

 

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-09/nsf-apt091015.php