Antarctic Item 001

This artfully rusted Cadbury tin was found and donated to the Long View Project by Rae Spain, camp manager at Lake Hoare in Antarctica's Dry Valleys. No identifying marks remain apart from the script logo on the lid, but the artifact's shape and size suggest it to be a can of Bourne-Vita, Cadbury's malted drink product introduced in 1948. I consider it something of a companion piece to Sifta Sam, as both are Dry Valleys discards made in England circa 1940s-50s. I'll speculate that they both belonged to the same research party, perhaps an early incarnation of the British Antarctic Survey which has been the UK’s national Antarctic operator for over 60 years. Intriguing also is the container's hidden contents which rolls around with a dull thud. I was briefly tempted to break the tape between lid and can to reveal the mystery, but thoughts of encountering a congealed malt (or is it mold?) ball made me reconsider. At least for now.