Archaeological work on the battlefield of Waterloo can help veterans and serving military personnel with recovery from mental and physical impacts of their service, according to a charity, Waterloo Uncovered.
A report – Peace from War – by the charity details a nine-month pilot Veterans and Military Personnel Support Programme run with an excavation on the Belgian battlefield, south of Brussels, where Napoleon lost to British, Prussian and allied troops in June 1815, bringing to a close the generation-long Napoleonic wars. Fifty British and Dutch veterans and serving personnel took part in the dig of July 2019, alongside archaeologists led by Prof Tony Pollard, Director of the Centre for Battlefield Archaeology at the University of Glasgow. The excavations examined key areas of the battlefield:
– Hougoumont Farm, pictured, scene of a famous episode where British Guardsmen foiled a French attack by forcing closed the gates. The dig found evidence of the destruction wrought on the buildings, besides personal items such as uniform buttons from the Coldstream Guards and Scots Guards defenders.
– Mont-Saint-Jean Farm, the location of Wellington’s field hospital during the battle, has given up grim evidence of the struggle to save lives, such as amputated limbs from the wounded bearing the marks of a surgeon’s saw.
– The ruins of the lost Chateau of Frichermont have been rediscovered in woods on the Allied left wing.
Large numbers of musket and cannon balls from the fierce fighting, show how close the French came to winning the battle.
In all, more than 800 finds were made. A 2020 dig has been postponed due to COVID-19 and the charity is running a Virtual Programme.
Prof Pollard spoke of a uniquely valuable perspective for an archaeologist. He said: “There’s an extra dimension to working with veterans. Some of our team in Waterloo Uncovered have had first-hand experience of close-quarter fighting. You can be kneeling next to them in a trench on the dig and they’ll notice something you haven’t.”
Mark Evans, a former Captain in the Coldstream Guards, now CEO of Waterloo Uncovered, said: “Archaeology isn’t a panacea for all ills, but it can be massively positive for individuals. Our wellbeing and support team is made up of professionals with vast experience. This report shows the evidence of the benefits people can achieve, both in the short term and over a longer period.”
For the report visit the Waterloo Uncovered website.
