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The first wintering on Svalbard

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 October 2009

Roger Jørgensen
Roger Jørgensen
Affiliation:
Tromsø Museum, Department of Archaeology, University of Tromsø, 9037 Tromsø, Norway
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Abstract

The first recorded wintering on Svalbard occurred in 1630–1631. Eight English whalemen were accidentally left behind for the winter. Having no equipment with which to survive the harsh climate, they sailed and rowed their shallop to Bell Sownd (Bellsund), a fjord south of where they were stranded, to an English whaling station where they found a house in which they survived. The location of this whaling station has never previously been established, but, based on archaeological surveys, test excavations, and the story published by one of the winterers, it has now been located at Laegerneset, on the eastern side of Recherchefjorden.

The eight men's most serious problem was obtaining sufficient food for the winter, and therefore food was rationed carefully. An analysis has been made based on the food stock they had when winter set in. Fresh supplies from hunting during late winter and spring were probably vital in keeping the men healthy. Although they undoubtedly would have been able to manage on the food they had collected during the autumn on a basis strictly of caloric intake, it is debatable whether they would have avoided scurvy without fresh meat during the long winter.

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Articles
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Polar Record , Volume 33 , Issue 187 , October 1997 , pp. 295 - 306
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1997

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