Shackleton’s famous shipwreck can now be seen up close and in unprecedented 3D detail at Discovery Point in Dundee, thanks to a collaboration between the Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust (FMHT) and the Dundee Heritage Trust (DHT). One of the most accurate representations of a deep-ocean heritage site to ever be produced, the 3D model is on show at the home of RRS Discovery until November 2026, offering a remarkable opportunity to explore the wreck up close for the very first time; revealing details down to the grain of the timbers and the helm. The loan of the model from FMHT to DHT brings the first public showcase of the model in Scotland, at one of the country’s most significant centres for polar and maritime history. Admission to see the model display is included in standard Discovery Point entry tickets.
The model was unveiled in April, followed by a sold-out talk by Mensun Bound – one of the world’s leading maritime archaeologists and Director of Exploration on the two expeditions to find Endurance – giving insight into both Shackleton’s extraordinary expedition and the modern mission that rediscovered the wreck in 2022. During his lecture, Bound described Dundee as “home of the ice ships”, and shared stories of encounters with local wildlife when playing football on the ice in the Antarctic, the “sunburst moment of joy” when the Endurance wreck was discovered, and the feeling of peering through two portholes into Shackleton’s cabin – where he knew that a framed copy of Rudyard Kipling’s “If” would likely still be found.
Shackleton’s lost ship
Lost beneath Antarctic ice for more than a century, the wreck of Endurance was discovered in 2022 during the Endurance22 expedition, led by FMHT. Located more than 3,000 metres below the surface of the Weddell Sea, the site remains one of the most remote and protected heritage locations on Earth. Because the wreck is safeguarded under the Antarctic Treaty System and a strict Conservation Plan, it must remain undisturbed.
Instead, the Endurance22 team used pioneering non-invasive archaeological techniques to record the wreck in extraordinary detail, capturing over 25,000 high-resolution images alongside laser and sonar data to create a scientifically precise digital twin of the site. This 3D printed model of the wreck translates that data into physical form. Produced at a scale of 1:29.3 using PLA (polylactide) and requiring approximately 350 hours to print, it represents one of the most accurate physical recreations of a deep-ocean heritage site ever produced.
Dundee as a Polar and maritime hub
The 3D model is on display alongside Shackleton’s memorial cross, the Hope Cross – overlooking the Discovery, the first ship to transport Shackleton to Antarctica. A major conservation project is currently underway on the ship to preserve it for future generations.
Elena Lewendon, Chief Operating Officer at FHMT said, “For me, this model is where exploration and technology truly meet. It takes millions of data points and turns them into something people can stand in front of and connect with. It’s about making the story of Endurance tangible and sharing that sense of discovery with everyone.”
Mensun Bound added: “The so-called ‘unreachable’ Endurance was situated in one of the most remote and hostile spots on the planet, a place that Shackleton himself called the worst portion of the worst sea on earth. Yet today, we can stand in a museum and look at it in extraordinary detail. This model is not an interpretation; it is a faithful, data-driven representation of the wreck exactly as it lies on the seabed. It allows people to connect, in a very real way, with both Shackleton’s story and the moment of discovery in 2022. That, for me, is the real power of this project.”
Main photo: The Endurance Wreck. Photo: (c) Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust.
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