On May 19, 1845, on the day of the departure of HMS Erebus and HMS Terror from England for a renewed search for a Northwest Passage, Captain Sir John Franklin wrote that “The Expedition excites the strongest interest in England among all parties and likewise on the Continent”. This statement is as true today as it was in 1845, even more so. Franklin could scarcely have imagined how that public interest transformed from hope for success, anxiety over the missing crews and ships, knowledge learned from Inuit about sunken ships and cannibalism, and ultimately the public craving for archaeological evidence for an expedition that had come undone by April 1848. Archaeological study of the expedition, both terrestrial and underwater, can be traced back to the early 1960s, and has steadily progressed, both through individual projects and bursts of activity. A renewed archaeological search for the wrecks of Erebus and Terror and terrestrial archaeological evidence launched in 2008, and the locating of the wrecks in 2014 and 2016 respectively, have resulted in significant archaeological advances over the last fifteen years. As a follow-up to papers presented at the CAA’s 2017 annual meeting, this session brings together a range of archaeologists, researchers, community members and museum professionals to give an overview of recent advances in the study of an expedition that has captured the public’s interest and imagination for 180 years.