While Diggers were tucking into bully beef and rock hard biscuits in Gallipoli, the Turks appear to have dined on fresh food, anarchaeological survey of the World War I battlefield suggests.
A team of 17 Australian, New Zealand and Turkish archaeologists, historians and researchers used non-invasive, advanced mapping, and GPS technology to uncover more than 100 artefacts from the Gallipoli battlefield in the second season of fieldwork undertaken as part of the Joint Historical and Archaeological Survey.
Some of the findings, revealed this evening, include three water bottles with bullet holes, pieces of medical bottles, tin food containers, expended ammunition, glass shards, shrapnel and barbed wire fragments.University of Melbourne Professor Antonio Sagona said the latest finds had led to some interesting theories about the conditions for the Allies and the Turks on the frontline.
“Turkish kitchens were much closer to the frontline than on the Allied side, indicating access to fresh meals. Processed food containers were common on the Allied side but not the Turkish,” he said.
“In some areas it is clear that the Turkish soldiers used local materials – bricks and ceramic roof tiles – to reinforce their trench and tunnels whereas, no bricks or tiles were found on the Allied side.”
Veterans’ Affairs Minister Warren Snowdon said the team had also revealed the complexity of trenches near the frontline, and found some trench networks were so dense they would be difficult to map using even modern techniques.
“Despite the historical importance of the Gallipoli battlefield, our knowledge of this area to date has been based on maps and written accounts. This area has never been studied in detail through modern archaeological survey methods,” Mr Snowdon said.
The latest survey covered the northern frontline areas, and one of the most significant finds was the Malone’s Terraces area at Quinn’s Post.
New Zealand’s Wellington Infantry Battalion, commanded by William Malone and known as Malone’s men, relieved the Australians at Quinn’s Post in June 1915. This was a key position, where even the smallest advance by the Turk’s would have forced the evacuation of the Anzacs.
“… the team also uncovered more than a thousand metres of trenches, dugouts and tunnel openings. Some 130 artefacts depicting life on the battlefields were also recovered and handed to a local museum for preservation,” Mr Snowdon said.
He said the survey was a chance to explore a defining moment in the formation of Australia's national identity.
“Some 50,000 Australians served during the Gallipoli campaign and more than 8700 lost their lives. This is a significant chapter in the history of our country and we owe it to those who made the ultimate sacrifice in war to learn all we can about this period,” he said.
Source: The Canberra Times [October 04, 2011]
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| A map of the Gallipoli battle site, with some of the artefacts recovered: a water bottle with bullet hole, a panniken, a medicine bottle, and a bully beef tin with lid, plus Lieutenant Colonel William George Malone [Credit: Alexander Turnbull Library, New Zealand and Department of Veterans' Affairs] |
Some of the findings, revealed this evening, include three water bottles with bullet holes, pieces of medical bottles, tin food containers, expended ammunition, glass shards, shrapnel and barbed wire fragments.University of Melbourne Professor Antonio Sagona said the latest finds had led to some interesting theories about the conditions for the Allies and the Turks on the frontline.
“Turkish kitchens were much closer to the frontline than on the Allied side, indicating access to fresh meals. Processed food containers were common on the Allied side but not the Turkish,” he said.
“In some areas it is clear that the Turkish soldiers used local materials – bricks and ceramic roof tiles – to reinforce their trench and tunnels whereas, no bricks or tiles were found on the Allied side.”
Veterans’ Affairs Minister Warren Snowdon said the team had also revealed the complexity of trenches near the frontline, and found some trench networks were so dense they would be difficult to map using even modern techniques.
“Despite the historical importance of the Gallipoli battlefield, our knowledge of this area to date has been based on maps and written accounts. This area has never been studied in detail through modern archaeological survey methods,” Mr Snowdon said.
The latest survey covered the northern frontline areas, and one of the most significant finds was the Malone’s Terraces area at Quinn’s Post.
New Zealand’s Wellington Infantry Battalion, commanded by William Malone and known as Malone’s men, relieved the Australians at Quinn’s Post in June 1915. This was a key position, where even the smallest advance by the Turk’s would have forced the evacuation of the Anzacs.
“… the team also uncovered more than a thousand metres of trenches, dugouts and tunnel openings. Some 130 artefacts depicting life on the battlefields were also recovered and handed to a local museum for preservation,” Mr Snowdon said.
He said the survey was a chance to explore a defining moment in the formation of Australia's national identity.
“Some 50,000 Australians served during the Gallipoli campaign and more than 8700 lost their lives. This is a significant chapter in the history of our country and we owe it to those who made the ultimate sacrifice in war to learn all we can about this period,” he said.
Source: The Canberra Times [October 04, 2011]