Carpenters are working against the clock to rescue a deteriorating wooden villa in South Georgia — a building linked to one of polar exploration's most remarkable survival stories.
Its significance stems from Sir Ernest Shackleton's extraordinary arrival there in 1916, following one of history's most gruelling Antarctic rescue attempts.
Conservation efforts now under way aim not only to physically preserve the historic building but create a digital "twin" for people around the world to see it.
The goal is to maintain the villa rather than open it to visitors, according to those involved in the project's team which raised £3million.
Alison Neil, chief executive of the Dundee-based South Georgia Heritage Trust, told the BBC: "You don't want it to just be something that inspires the people that can afford to come to an island. So many people are really fascinated by the story of Shackleton and the Endurance. It would be great to be able to tell everyone around the world who is keen on this story, this chapter. The most effective way to do that is to let them experience it for themselves through a digital version."
After Shackleton's ship The Endurance became trapped in Antarctic ice the previous year, he and five crew members embarked on a 800-mile voyage across treacherous ocean waters to reach South Georgia, an island in the South Atlantic Ocean.
Upon landing, Shackleton, Frank Worsley and Tom Crean undertook a three-day trek across the island's mountainous terrain to reach the whaling station.
The exhausted men appeared so dishevelled that nobody recognised them when they knocked on the villa door. The manager reportedly asked: "Who the hell are you?" Shackleton allegedly replied: "My name is Shackleton."
That moment at the villa door marked the first time the men had made contact with the outside world in nearly 18 months.
Once inside, Shackleton, Worsley and Crean were offered a hot meal and the chance to bathe.
The three explorers immediately began organising the rescue of their remaining crew members, working alongside the whalers at Stromness to mount the operation.
Shackleton later died on board the ship Quest in 1922 and was buried in Grytviken, a hamlet on South Georgia.
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