Cold temperatures are great for preserving a lot of things. Meat, for example, lasts a long time in the freezer. So does bread. Well, add another (if not unconventional) item to the list of things that freeze well: New Zealand’s Antarctic Heritage Trust found photo negatives in an expedition hut from Captain Robert Falcon Scott’s failed 1912 quest to become the first man to reach the South Pole.

The photos were taken during Ernest Shackleton’s 1914-1917 Ross Sea Party, which was yet another failed Antarctic exploration. The members had to resort to living in Scott’s hut after their vessel blew out to sea.

According to the trust, the negatives belonged to Herbert Ponting, who was Scott’s expedition photographer. After transporting them to New Zealand, the negatives were separated to reveal 22 separate images. Though it’s unclear who took the photos, the trust was able to identify landmarks around McMurdo Sound.

Scott, a British explorer, was one of several who became famous during what historians call the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. He arrived at the South Pole in January 1912 only to find that Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen (a rival, of sorts) had beaten him to the punch by about 33 days. Despite reaching the Pole, Scott and his crew died on their return journey in 1912.

Not long after, Ernest Shackleton attempted the first land crossing of Antarctica from the Weddell Sea to the Ross Sea via the South Pole, according to the Museum Victoria website. Ten members of his expedition were stranded when their ship blew out to sea and they were forced to live in Scott’s hut. Three men died before they were rescued in 1916.

Nigel Watson, Antarctic Heritage Trust’s executive director, said the new photos are a historic treasure. “It’s an exciting find and we are delighted to see them exposed after a century,” he said.

They’re also very, very creepy looking, as are most old photographs.