The 'Pompeii' of the Western Front

[Biggles]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...ars-later.html

The bodies of 21 German soldiers entombed in a perfectly preserved World War One shelter have been discovered 94 years after they were killed.

The men were part of a larger group of 34 who were buried alive when a huge Allied shell exploded above the tunnel in 1918, causing it to cave in.

Thirteen bodies were recovered from the underground shelter, but the remaining men had to be left under a mountain of mud as it was too dangerous to retrieve them.

Nearly a century later, French archaeologists stumbled upon the mass grave on the former Western Front in eastern France during excavation work for a road building project.

Many of the skeletal remains were found in the same positions the men had been in at the time of the collapse, prompting experts to liken the scene to Pompeii.



A number of the soldiers were discovered sitting upright on a bench, one was lying in his bed and another was in the foetal position having been thrown down a flight of stairs.

Pretty interesting stuff this. I assume they will make sure any eventual remains gets a proper funeral.

[Schroeder]

There must still be so much buried in the grounds of the western front, amazing and shocking at the same time.

[Torplexed]

The "war to end all wars" now the site of archeological digs. Seems strange to lump a war with tanks, planes, and machine guns into the same category as battlefields like Gaugamela, Alesia or Ramillies but time marches on.

Just gotta watch out for the land mines.

[TarJak]

Amazing finds in that trench network. There were a few "unidentified" objects that look a bit obvious to me. The leather purse with coins is a pretty easy one to see for example.

In 1992 spent about half a day stomping around the Great War battlefield at the Butte de Vauquois west of Verdun. On a dark, cold rainy October day is became one of the eeriest places I've ever been.

Edited to correct some cardinal point dyslexia, the Vauquois is west of Verdun.

[Stealhead]

I bet that they never even knew what happened there one minute gone the next.The object above the ruler is an ammo pouch for 7.92mm ammunition.

[Rhodes]

Would love to be part of the anthropological study of the remains!

[nikimcbee]

So is this the new thing now, excavating the WWI trenched?