Divers discover guns and coins in wrecks of ships that vanished nearly 2 centuries ago off Canada

In 1845, the HMS Erebus and HMS Terror set sail from England on a mission to chart a passage around the top of North America. Led by Captain Sir John Franklin, the voyage ended in tragedy three years later when both ships were lost in the frigid waters off Canada's coast.

None of the 129 men on board the ships survived. The so-called Franklin Expedition marked the worst disaster in the history of British polar exploration, according to the Royal Museums Greenwich in London.

Nearly two centuries after the ships sank, divers exploring the HMS Erebus wreck have discovered an array of "fascinating artifacts," including pistols, coins and even an intact thermometer, officials announced this week.