Archaeology of historic Subantarctic sealing

Project aim

This research project forms part of a PhD thesis on the historic sealing industry in the Southern Ocean between c1790 and 1900. During this period large numbers of vessels from various colonial powers such as England, America and France landed men of various nationalities on islands in the Southern Ocean for the purpose of procuring seal skins and oil. Traces of their camp sites can still be found in may localities, and this project seeks to undertake archaeological excavations at a small number of them on Heard Island in order to better understand the origins and lifestyles of the sealers who lived there.