The Plugstreet Team are pleased to announce that our Blog now has a new home and we are developing a website to share the results of our work.
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Wednesday 14 July 2010
Thursday 26 November 2009
Christmas Gifts
Martin models the SOS hat and wristband in a British trench at Plugstreet 2009.
We find evidence of gifts for the troops in the trenches at Plugstreet, including toffee tins and the like. It was an important part of trench life, getting parcels. The most famous gifts were the Queen Mary tins that included cigarettes and chocolate but colonies sent chocolate and individials sent the men on all sides presents to keep their morale up.
This Christmas gifts for the troops on deployment are as important as they were in 1914. If you would like to contribute to gifts to our boys then go to:
and make a donation.
The Project has donated to the charity before and sent some more money to them this evening.
We wish them all safe home, but in the meantime we remember them and use the insights from the archaeological evidence to reflect on the soldiers' experience, far from home, eating boring food and having, at best, an unusual Christmas...
Support SOS
Merry Christmas
Happy Reading
Hello Readers
As Christmas is coming and you're no doubt stumped for gift ideas why not consider a copy of "Digging Up Plugstreet" by Martin Brown & Richard Osgood. It's a cracking read.
On the subject of great reads, you could also have a look at the "Chroniques de l'Archaeologie Wallone" 26, 2009. It's published by the Province of Wallonia and includes short reports on work undertaken in the region in 2007, including Plugstreet.
As Christmas is coming and you're no doubt stumped for gift ideas why not consider a copy of "Digging Up Plugstreet" by Martin Brown & Richard Osgood. It's a cracking read.
On the subject of great reads, you could also have a look at the "Chroniques de l'Archaeologie Wallone" 26, 2009. It's published by the Province of Wallonia and includes short reports on work undertaken in the region in 2007, including Plugstreet.
Sunday 13 September 2009
Finds from 2009
In a recent post we promised to show a few of the finds recovered from the site this year. Here is a small selection.
Thanks are due to Rob, Egon, Shirley and their team in the findsroom who cleaned, catalogued, conserved and generally made things recogniseable again.
A set of German ammunition pouches.
A patent medicine bottle - troops often took their own cold remedies and lice powders into the line.
Lots of cartidges, mostly fired, which are probably evidence of battlefield salvage that someone dumped in a position when he couldn't be bothered to carry them to the rear!
Thanks are due to Rob, Egon, Shirley and their team in the findsroom who cleaned, catalogued, conserved and generally made things recogniseable again.
A set of German ammunition pouches.
The plate and badge from a Saxon pickelhaube helmet.
A patent medicine bottle - troops often took their own cold remedies and lice powders into the line.
Lots of cartidges, mostly fired, which are probably evidence of battlefield salvage that someone dumped in a position when he couldn't be bothered to carry them to the rear!
Our star find,the German 1915 snipers face mask. This is a particukrly evocative artefact as it leaves no doubt about its evil intent. No aesthetics, just malevolence. It is also very rare, only one of 1500 made.
And we found all this rusty munition but thanks to Gontrand and Rod it wasn't a significant problem. There are German stick grenades and trench mortar rounds, as well as a British Stokes mortar bomb and someother bits and pieces. DOVO have now removedthem from the safe area on site.
Sunday 6 September 2009
Recording Methods
Those of you that have visited us on site will know of all the many methods we employ for recording our work. One of these is to film our work to provide detail on decisions made and methods employed. This has the added benefit of the potential for producing documentary work on the excavations. Angela and Derek have filmed all of the fieldwork so far and Angela has now put together a 1 minute clip of the work as a trailer for a documentary proposal. We hope this leads to further work for the project!
The Project was selected as one of five finalists for the National Film Board of Canada Cross-Media Challenge 2009 competition at The Sheffield Documentary Festival. Angela delivered a presentation to the international judging panel and gathered audience, which was well received. Unfortunately we didn't scoop the main prize, but were very pleased to have reached the final and obtained some useful feedback and encouragement.
An Irish Memorial
The team was fortunate enough to have Billy Quinn working with us this summer. Billy has posted his thoughts on the excavations here: http://mooregroup.wordpress.com/2009/08/18/my-summer-holidays-by-billy-quinn-aged-41-and-a-half/
In other news - there is the possibility that this week we will hear the results of the stable istope work that was undertaken on the remains of the Australian soldier recovered in 2008. Was he from Western Australia, New South Wales, England, Scotland or.....Sweden?
Lastly, it is confirmed that the volume on the project so far is now out: you can purchase at many book stores or Amazon... http://www.amazon.co.uk/Digging-Up-Plugstreet-Archaeology-Battlefield/dp/1844255425
In other news - there is the possibility that this week we will hear the results of the stable istope work that was undertaken on the remains of the Australian soldier recovered in 2008. Was he from Western Australia, New South Wales, England, Scotland or.....Sweden?
Lastly, it is confirmed that the volume on the project so far is now out: you can purchase at many book stores or Amazon... http://www.amazon.co.uk/Digging-Up-Plugstreet-Archaeology-Battlefield/dp/1844255425
Tuesday 11 August 2009
Food & Drink
Without the assistance of Claude and Nelly at the Auberge in Ploegsteert we wouldn't have the succesful, nor as well fed project that we do.
For amazing moules or the best carbonade of beef, you should visit the Auberge, just opposite the Ploegsteert memorial to the missing. Claude will also do amazing vegetarian food!
Thanks again, from the whole team!
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