10 YEArs OF Archaeology in 10 DISCOVEries
Find out more about of our most exciting discoveries from our almost 10 years of excavation on the Waterloo battlefield.
Originally published by the Council of British Archaeology for the Festival of Archaeology 2024.
June 18th, 2015 marked two hundred years since the Battle of Waterloo. The bicentenary was celebrated with a flurry of international celebrations, royally-attended memorial services, and the largest battle reenactment ever hosted on the Waterloo battlefield, in which 6,200 re-enactors, 330 horses and 120 cannons took part.
The revived significance of Waterloo also led to a newfound interest in the artefacts that survived the conflict. Amid an influx of traditional histories, Gareth Glover published ‘Waterloo in 100 Objects’; using artefacts to capture key moments of the battle and the wider events which surrounded it. From uniforms to, muskets and, maps to medals, each object is shown in brilliant detail and placed in a fascinating context.
The impressive survival of many of these artefacts is partially down to private collectors, who flocked to the battlefield within days of the battle to capture their own piece of history (see e.g. The Cotton Museum collection). Artefact trade quickly became a staple feature of the local economy, and guides scoured the earth looking for souvenirs to sell to well-paying tourists.
After 200 years of collecting, looting, and construction on the battlefield, you may wonder what was left to find at on the battlefield of Waterloo? Over the past decade, the veteran's charity Waterloo Uncovered has set out to answer this question. Working with a team of international archaeologists, modern veterans and serving personnel have excavated five key sites and unearthed over 6,500 finds to date. Many of these discoveries have fundamentally reshaped the story of one of history’s most well-documented conflicts.
Below is a list of ten discoveries that showcase almost ten years of archaeology undertaken by our veterans. These finds do not tell the stories of great commanders or triumphant victories. Rather they shed light on the true realities of conflict - a lived experience shared by veterans and serving military personnel from past to present. For many participants on Waterloo Uncovered’s Excavation Programme, archaeology has not only become a means to unearth the past, but an opportunity to find their own recovery through discovery.