Trigger warnings about war graves do not molly-coddle archaeology students, they are essential

No abstract available

Taking the hill: archaeological survey and excavation of German communication trenches on the summit of Mont St Quentin

This following presents the results of a limited programme of field investigation carried out on the site of German communication trenches running through woodland on the summit of Mont St Quentin, just outside the town of Peronne, in the Somme region of Picardy (Fig. 1). The aim of the project was to assess the archaeological potential of features related to the Battle of Mont St Quentin, which took place in August/September 1918 and was co-directed by Tony Pollard and Iain Banks. The fieldwork, which consisted of topographic survey, metal detector survey and limited excavation, was carried out over ten days, between August 29 and September 9, 2011.<p></p> The action, by men of the Australian Second Division, saw the Germans pushed off their strong position on the hill and thereafter the re-capture of Peronne. As a result, three Victoria Crosses were awarded and General Rawlinson described the battle as the finest achievement of the war. Given its place in the history of Australian military endeavour on the Western Front, the Historial de la Grande Guerre in Peronne has taken out a 50 year lease on an area of land within Mont St Quentin Wood, which is an initiative supported by the Australian government via the Department of Veteran’s Affairs. This ground includes a number of German communication trenches, along with other features such as shell holes. The intention is to include this area in a heritage trail (Australian Remembrance Trail), which will incorporate other sites of Australian activity, including Fromelles, Villers-Bretonneux and Hamel. In order to maximise the impact and educational value of the site it has been subject to archaeological investigation, an exercise that will add to our understanding of events there, and also provide information and material for a proposed interpretation centre

Editorial

No abstract available

Now the wars are over: The past, present and future of Scottish battlefields

Battlefield archaeology has provided a new way of appreciating historic battlefields. This paper provides a summary of the long history of warfare and conflict in Scotland which has given rise to a large number of battlefield sites. Recent moves to highlight the archaeological importance of these sites, in the form of Historic Scotland’s Battlefields Inventory are discussed, along with some of the problems associated with the preservation and management of these important cultural sites

No man is an island: reflections on the battlefield landscapes of the Falklands-Malvinas War

There were two sets of Falkland Islands fought over in 1982. To the British, including the islanders, they were of course the Falklands, but to the Argentines they were the Malvinas. Some in the British military thought the islands were off the coast of Scotland when they first heard of them, in most cases just before deployment. By way of contrast, Argentine troops had grown up believing they were part of their birth right stolen from them by British ‘pirates’. But how did troops on the ground view the islands when they were up close and personal with them, when the islands formed the battlefields over which they fought? During the Falklands-Malvinas War the surface of the land was bombed, it was shelled, it was picked apart and dug into to create fortifications, minefields and graves, and in places it still carries those scars. Drawing on the experience of four visits since 2012, eyewitness accounts and memoirs, military records and archaeological remains, this article explores the islands as both imaginary spaces and as an environment in which men strove to fight the elements and one another, and in doing so presents a fresh perspective on the relationship between people and places in time of war

Mapping Mayhem: Scottish Battle Maps and their Role in Archaeological Research

This contribution provides a summary review of the development of battle maps in Scotland over a 200-year period, between the Battle of Pinkie in 1547 and the Battle of Culloden in 1746. These specialised types of maps, it is proposed, are an extremely valuable resource in the relatively new field of battlefield archaeology. They provide an important insight into the nature of the terrain at the time of the battle, which may have changed considerably since the time of the conflict in question. They also depict troop locations and give an insight into battle choreography, which is in some cases more informative than the often confused or very sketchy eye witness accounts. However, like the written accounts battle maps can be subject to inaccuracies and distortions, either accidental or deliberate and as discussed in the paper, some of these have recently been brought to light by archaeological survey. The role of maps in archaeological research is considered in relation to investigations carried out by the author at Culloden, a battle which was portrayed in a number of maps drawn up at the time or soon after

Assessing the Impact of Retreat Mechanisms in a Simple Antarctic Ice Sheet Model Using Bayesian Calibration

The response of the Antarctic ice sheet (AIS) to changing climate forcings is an important driver of sea-level changes. Anthropogenic climate change may drive a sizeable AIS tipping point response with subsequent increases in coastal flooding risks. Many studies analyzing flood risks use simple models to project the future responses of AIS and its sea-level contributions. These analyses have provided important new insights, but they are often silent on the effects of potentially important processes such as Marine Ice Sheet Instability (MISI) or Marine Ice Cliff Instability (MICI). These approximations can be well justified and result in more parsimonious and transparent model structures. This raises the question of how this approximation impacts hindcasts and projections. Here, we calibrate a previously published and relatively simple AIS model, which neglects the effects of MICI and regional characteristics, using a combination of observational constraints and a Bayesian inversion method. Specifically, we approximate the effects of missing MICI by comparing our results to those from expert assessments with more realistic models and quantify the bias during the last interglacial when MICI may have been triggered. Our results suggest that the model can approximate the process of MISI and reproduce the projected median melt from some previous expert assessments in the year 2100. Yet, our mean hindcast is roughly 3/4 of the observed data during the last interglacial period and our mean projection is roughly 1/6 and 1/10 of the mean from a model accounting for MICI in the year 2100. These results suggest that missing MICI and/or regional characteristics can lead to a low-bias during warming period AIS melting and hence a potential low-bias in projected sea levels and flood risks.Comment: v1: 16 pages, 4 figures, 7 supplementary files; v2: 15 pages, 4 figures, 7 supplementary files, corrected typos, revised title, updated according to revisions made through publication proces

The archaeological survey of remains from the 1982 Falklands war

This paper provides an introduction and progress report on the first season of fieldwork carried out by the Falklands War Mapping Project. In March and April 2022, a team including two Scots Guards veterans travelled to the Falkland Islands and surveyed field fortifications and artefacts related to the Battle of Tumbledown (13–14 June 1982). The focus was on the western and southern flanks of the feature, with a notable series of Argentine dugouts recorded on the low ground at the southern base of the mountain. The first five days were spent in COVID-19 quarantine in Stanley, followed by eight days dedicated to the Tumbledown survey and site visits – a further three days were spent on Pebble Island by two of the project team. This project marks the first occasion on which the veterans of a battle have been engaged in the archaeological survey of their own battlefield

Vampir Dugout. Opgravingsverslag archeologische prospectie. Locatie: Ieperstraat 208 - 8980 Zonnebeke

Dit rapport werd ingediend bij het agentschap samen met een aantal afzonderlijke digitale bijlagen. Een aantal van deze bijlagen zijn niet inbegrepen in dit pdf document en zijn niet online beschikbaar. Sommige bijlagen (grondplannen, fotos, spoorbeschrijvingen, enz.) kunnen van belang zijn voor een betere lezing en interpretatie van dit rapport. Indien u deze bijlagen wenst te raadplegen kan u daarvoor contact opnemen met: [email protected]