conservationist working on a labor in Cape Adare , Antarctica have let on a 100 - twelvemonth - honest-to-goodness , capriciously well maintain - looking yield cake that they mean engagement from Scott of the Antarctic ’s famous 1910 military expedition . Yes , the one no - one returned from .
TheAntarctic Heritage Trustis presently carrying out preservation piece of work on the hut that would have been vital shelter for early military expedition , focalize on the Cape Adare area , the north - easternmost peninsula in East Antarctica .
The researcher have been working preserving artifacts find in the arena since May 2016 , with around 1,500 item found so far . But the most surprising is definitely the century - older fruit bar .
" With just two week to go on the preservation of the Cape Adare artifact , bump such a absolutely save fruitcake in amongst the last smattering of unnamed and hard corroded tins was quite a surprisal , " political program manager for artifacts , Lizzie Meek , said in astatement . excuse its comportment she keep : " It ’s an idealistic high-pitched - vigour food for Antarctic conditions , and is still a favourite item on modern trips to the Ice . "
The cake , identify by the tin it was still in , was made by Huntley & Palmers , a well - known British biscuit company from the time Robert Falcon Scott guarantee his ultimately doomed Terra Nova outing of 1910 to 1913 .
Fruit patty found at Cape Adare thought to be from Scott ’s Northern Party ( 1911 ) . Antarctic Heritage Trust
Although the tin was in poor condition , fabulously the cake still looks edible . In fact , the investigator described it as in " splendid status " and smelling not bad . " There was a very , very little rancid butter olfactory modality to it , but other than that the cake looked and smelled comestible ! There is no doubt the utmost coldness in Antarctica has assisted its saving , " Meeks say .
With the tin mend , and the newspaper wrapping mend , they have bring stabilizing chemicals to both tin and patty in cooking for hark back it to the Antarctic . It was found in one of the oldest huts in Antarctica . Built by the Norwegian Carsten Borchgrevink during his 1899 expedition , it was used by Scott ’s squad in 1911 , which we bang from his recovered diaries .
Scott ’s famous south-polar outing was both scientific and powered by a desire to be the first person to reach the South Pole . The five - valet squad did finally reach the South Pole on January 17 , 1912 . Unfortunately , upon arrival , they let on that Roald Amundsen ’s Norwegian squad had beaten them to it by 34 twenty-four hour period .
" Great God ! this is an awing place and fearful enough for us to have laboured to it without reward of anteriority , " Scott wrote in hisdiary .
On their payoff journey , all five men pass , their collapsible shelter and body chance upon by British explorers cross the Ross Ice Shelf in November 1912 . see as their expedition was one of the first to explore Antarctica during its winter , it ’s assumed they froze to death after crave .
They really could have done with that cake .
