The Terror fan helps scientists solve nearly two-century archeological mystery

A new study published on Tuesday resolved an archeological mystery that dates back almost two centuries. As depicted in AMC’s critically acclaimed series The Terror, an English expedition led by Captain John Franklin ended in disaster when its two ships became stuck in the ice of the Canadian Arctic. All 129 crew members of the HMS Terror and HMS Erebus perished as a result of various maladies and afflictions, and the remains of bodies that were eventually found went largely unidentified. But researchers have now been able to match the DNA of a descendant to the remains of James Fitzjames, captain of the Erebus, and they’ve got a Terror fan to thank.

Literally: Fabiënne Tetteroo, herself a historian, is mentioned in the acknowledgments of the paper outlining the identification of Fitzjames’ remains (via The Verge). Tetteroo first became interested in Franklin’s lost expedition after watching the AMC show, and in particular developed an interest in Fitzjames. According to her website, she’s now writing her own biography of Fitzjames. The archaeologists who identified Fitzjames thanked Tetteroo “for generously sharing the results of her investigations of Fitzjames’ family history and for her efforts to identify possible candidates for our Franklin expedition DNA research. It was through her efforts that we were connected with the descendant donor.”