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Dig Diaries

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  2. Dig Diaries

Day 1 update – We’re back and the finds are ‘firing’ in!

The countdown is over, we’re finally here at Hougoumont Farm and it feels so good to back. What was instantly noticeable since our visit in April was the development of the farm complex, particularly the superb renovation of the Gardner’s House where our site ‘hut’ is based for the next two weeks. Well done Project […]

Day 2 update – Ready, aim, fire!

Whilst we continue to explore our trenches in the walled garden a lot of our attention has been on the area known as the Killing ground, a small area outside the south wall that stood the brunt of the French attack. Several trenches have been opened here and after removing about 6 inches of the […]

Day 3 update – Bottles, Brick pathways and a Belgium Blue

Things are really taking shape here at Hougoumont as we reach day 3 although sharing a field full of Belgium Blues certainly creates a few challenges. Even after we had put up a fence like a shark cave the cows curiosity won the day. Arriving on site in the morning it was evident a curious […]

Day 4 update – Have we found Clay’s ammunition?

Day 4 of our two week dig and we’ve turned our attention to an area that is referred to as the sunken way, a ditch that runs East to West past the North of Hougoumont Farm and found five musket balls. Now we know from Private Matthew Clay’s memoirs that he slept here the night […]

Day 5 update – a recap on last week

We’re back for another week of excavating after a much needed rest over the weekend but before we launch into new discoveries and points for discussion let’s recap over a few of the highlights from last week. On Friday, Eva from SPW removed the unbroken bottle from its trench.  Finds analysis have revealed that it […]

Day 8 update – Digging in the rain, just digging in the rain

There are positives to digging in the rain… no really there are! Firstly, the rain changes the look of the soil and with a bit of cleaning up in trench 21 it is now possible to see the faintest of traces of the ornamental garden, so that it shows up like a ghost garden and […]

Day 9 update- A few finds

The finds coming out of Hougoumont Farm tell many different stories, some of battles, some of home life and some of modern life. It makes you appreciate how many people have worked, lived, fought and died in this small area of Belgium. We’ve pulled out a selection of finds to highlight these themes. We hope […]

Day 10 update – The great debate

We’re moving towards the end of our second week at Hougoumont Farm and the time just seems to fly by. Before we know it, it will soon be time to head home, but before then there’s still a lot of archaeology to do. We’re enjoying some great debates on our Facebook page and thank you […]

Final Day

Just a (very) short post today. More results to follow next week as we process our finds, thoughts and theories. After a log day backfilling trenches, we’re packed up and on our way home early tomorrow morning.  It’s been two weeks we wont forget. We’ve made new discoveries and new friends. Some have tried archaeology for the first […]

Day 1 UPDATE – Back at it again!

So here we are! The Waterloo Uncovered team of 2016 has found its way back to Belgium. We’ve got people from all over the place, including France, Germany, the Netherlands and the UK, all with different backgrounds ranging from students to military veterans. For some, like Phil Harding and Professor Tony Pollard, it’s their second […]

Day 2 UPDATE – BRICK WALLS AND MUSKET BALLS

“Yesterday, I felt a bit like Napoleon,” said Tony Pollard with a smile. The reason was because the battle in 1815 didn’t start off until later in the day, due to heavy rainfall the previous night. Napoleon had to wait for the mud to dry so he could manoeuvre his artillery. Yesterday Tony struggled with […]

Day 3 UPDATE – Reading to remember

We’re on day 3 of our two week dig and things are going great! Everybody’s working hard on the unravelling of the battle and our work is paying off nicely. Phil’s team has been excavating the base of the walls in the courtyard and now have a lot of information on construction techniques used in […]

Day 4 UPDATE – Uncovering trench 45

David Ulke, an ex-RAF nursing officer, is one of the team excavating trench 45 in the courtyard under the supervision of Phil Harding. The survival of the building remains in this trench is much better than expected considering that these were damaged and destroyed in the battle itself. By the end of the day a […]

Day 5 UPDATE – special guests and excellent archeology!

Today we had a surprise visit from the Duke of Wellington! He first visited to Hougoumont was with his grandfather 58 years ago, and ever since then he has been passionate about the battlefield his ancestor fought on. Our famous visitor was shown around the site, and even appeared in a live feed to a […]

Day 6 UPDATE – Achievements so far

We’re now at the half way mark and our teams have done exceptionally well. Everyone’s put in a lot of work and all of the trenches have offered up interesting archaeology. Before we left site for the weekend we had a trench tour so that everyone got to see what all the other teams have been […]

Day 7 UPDATE – The battle of the Somme

Today, Waterloo Uncovered visited the site of the battle of the Somme and remembered those who fought and died on those fields 100 years ago. Euan, a student from the University of Glasgow, organized the day and took his team mates to places he was researching – the exact spots where members of his university […]

Day 8 UPDATE – More info than ever before!

Stu and his crew have been very busy creating a data base. They collected all the data provided by the survey team and put it all into spatial coordinates. This is then used to orientate ourselves and get a very clear impression of exactly what was found and where it was located. By building up […]

Day 9 UPDATE – Mysteries and discoveries!

Phil’s team has been working very hard trying to find the original front wall of the building that stood against the north wall of the courtyard. They are digging a new trench at a location that should be in the right place according to the survey and it’s looking very promising! Sat’s team has opened […]

Day 11 UPDATE – The final trenches

Today the final trenches were opened. They were in the east end of the killing zone and ran from the base of the garden wall to the fence which marks the southern edge of the narrow strip, which the French had to cross in their attack on the wall. The purpose for these trenches was […]

FINAL DAY

After two fantastic weeks of digging and discoveries, our excavation has come to an end. The team has been doing some great work and as Bobby said, “We worked hard, but laughed hard as well!” Everyone seems to have had quite a blast and it’s good to see such happy faces every day. Our team […]

Day 1 – The Waterloo Tour

Sunday was the first official day of Waterloo Uncovered 2017! After a long journey for many of our team members (many arriving en masse by mini van on Saturday evening), everyone settled in and finally got to meet each other properly: a merry mix of veterans, archaeologists, students, scholars, locals, detectorists, film makers and photographers. […]

Day 2 – WU Firsts! La Ferme de Mont-Saint-Jean & the new WU Podcast!

The Day 1 Dig Diary stated that the 2017 field season is a year of firsts, and not least as this year we are digging at not one, but two sites on the Waterloo battlefield. Service Public de Wallonie (‘SPW’ – the local authority) are building a new roundabout just south of Mont St. John Farm (2km northeast […]

Day 3 – Different perspectives

Yesterday on our first day of digging, the first trenches to be opened were in the “Killing Zone”. The Killing Zone has been a key area of investigation for the past three years, as the site that reportedly saw the most intense fighting in the battle for Hougoumont. An open area of land in front […]

Day 4 – Rain and Readings

Today’s dig started off rainy and overcast. This, however, did not dampen morale, and everyone was excited to get digging. Tents were set up over the trenches in the courtyard and the garden, which let us continue the excavations in these places. Luckily, it did not rain the entire day and we were able to […]