These century-old photo negatives of a doomed Antarctic expedition will haunt you

During to mission to restore an exploration hut in Antarctica, conservators of the New Zealand Antarctic Heritage Trust stumbled on an unbelievable find.

Inside a box, 22 never-before-seen cellulose nitrate photo negatives documenting a 100 year-old Antarctic expedition were found beautifully preserved in a block of ice. It was truly a unique window into the heroic and treacherous era of Antarctic ice exploration, and a tragic one as well.

The box of photographs was probably left in Captain Scott’s hut by Ernest Shackleton’s 1914-1917 Ross Sea Party, an expedition that was stranded after their ship floated away to the sea during a massive blizzard. The group was finally rescued but only after three men died. (h/t: nzaht.org)

Look:

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