Dig Diaries

Day 5 – Watermooo Uncovered

After the rain we had yesterday, today was incredibly sunny. Luckily, the tents provide some shade, but Cornelius’ “don’t forget to wear sunscreen and drink enough water” is still the slogan of this dig. We also had some interesting guests who were very interested in one of our new trenches, namely some bovine archaeologists (Thank […]

Day 6 – Today, we fight

With the prospect of a relaxing weekend, everyone was eager to start digging today. The digging continued in all of the trenches, as well as in the new trench in the orchard and at Mont Saint Jean. At the end of the day, everyone went on a tour of the excavations. Everyone got to […]

Day 7 – Winter is coming

After a well-deserved weekend in which we either explored what Belgium had to offer or the poolside of the hotel, the group was ready to get back to work. Although the weather was drab and cold, we have made some great progress, and everyone was excited to be back on site. However, people were also […]

Day 8 – Waterloo Uncovered makes the news

Water and sun cream was our main priority today. After a dreary Monday, Tuesday was sunny and hot. While the sun was much appreciated, many have said that they in fact preferred the rain. Despite the heat, we have recovered some interesting objects in interesting locations. The most interesting find was at Mont Saint Jean. […]

Day 9 – A Coldstream Guard’s Button

The Weird-Wobbly-Wednesday-Dip has kicked in full force. People were tired, and when we arrived on site it was hot and muggy, which did not help the situation in any way. The temperature dropped considerably after the thunderstorm which arrived around midday, which was much appreciated. The archaeology has not slowed down in any way though, […]

Day 10 – Touring the trenches

The project is starting to come to a close. After a week and a half of digging and excavation, the teams are now in the process of recording the finds, finalising the drawings and graphs and cleaning out the trench for final photographing. We only had a short day, with a tour of the trenches […]

Day 11 – The Last Day

It was a weird feeling coming on site this morning. The team was ready to get back to work, but at the same time, we all knew that this would be our last day at Hougoumont. The tasks for the day was to backfill all the trenches, finalise all the drawings and paperwork, and clean […]

Day 0: It’s Great to Be Back!

It feels as if the Belgian sun could not wait to see us return, either. On the one hand this is great: we could not have wished for better weather to visit the Château d’Hougoumont, eat pizza in, and cruise around the fields next to La Butte de Lion (see picture). On the other hand, […]

Day 1: Breaking New Ground; and How to be an Archaeologist

The day starts off with a short debriefing. We are warned of the massive-but-noiseless cows that may suddenly appear and are easily startled. After some questionnaires we are split up into our groups for the next two weeks. We rotate to discover the six essential steps of the archaeological process. At the end of this […]

Day 2: Coins, Buttons and Promises

Whereas we felt so welcomed by the sun two days ago, today was a different story: the skies are grey and the temperature has dropped significantly. Anyone who has forgotten to bring their amazing Waterloo Uncovered-hoodie regrets their grave mistake. Sadly, no rain as of yet. Though the ground did not have a chance to […]

Day 3: War Letters and the Lost Pond

Today, we have been working hard to make it back home in time for the match (in case you ask: England are playing Croatia in the Semi Final of the Football World Cup). New trenches were dug, others were deepened, and in the chapel our team did their best to bring soldier’s accounts of the […]

Day 4: An Extraordinary Coincidence and the Renovation Excavation

We are starting to understand what happened inside the Northern Gate. Unfortunately, sometimes we are getting a better picture of what happened in that place around 2015 – not 1815. Tomorrow, we will dig to a deeper layer. One of our team members did find an ‘antique’ medicine bottle from the early 20th century, which […]

Dig Diary 5: Finding the Foundation and Getting Creative

It’s Friday Finds Day! Check our Facebook, Instagram and Twitter posts to see the highlights of this week. We’ve had success at the Garden Wall excavations – read the full story below! Joining us on site are two artists and an author. They are walking around, soaking up information from the dig, and our team has been joining […]

Dig Diary Weekend: The Past Come Back to Life

Waterloo Uncovered Archaeology Weekend An important part of our work is to tell people about what we do. This year, for the first time, we held an Archaeology Open Weekend, aimed at the local community and those interested in finding out more about what we have uncovered on site. Crowds of people came to visit […]

Dig Diary 6: Breaking New Ground

It’s Monday. The week has started again, and we are excited to be back digging. Today, there’s more evidence for how archaeology creates as many new questions as answers. Keep reading to see what we’ve found! The cover-up Some trenches have been covered over again as our work there is concluded -for now. The […]

Dig Diary 7: Blazing Heat and Mystery Button

We’re getting a much clearer sense of the physical features of the battle landscape. In today’s dig diary we’re going to look at work on the wall, the search for a hedge, and more news from the North Gate. Blazing Heat Working in the summer heat has not been easy, but it has been rewarding. […]

Dig Diary 8: New Trenches, Ancient Artefacts

Day 8 has been an exciting day with two new trenches dug in promising places! At the end of the Dig Diary, we will give you an insight into two more highlighted finds of the week. The end of the project is approaching rapidly. On Thursday, we will have completed most of our excavations, and on Friday, […]

The Last Dig Diary of 2018

It has been wonderful to be on site and to be part of this amazing community. Who knew that such a diverse group of strangers could become so close in only two (intense) weeks? Thank you for reading, following, liking and sharing us! The Chestnut Deception Did we find out what caused the geophysical […]

Dig Diary Day 1: Waterloo Uncovered Rides Again

Battlefield Beginnings On Sunday 7th of July, the Waterloo Uncovered team gathered at the main museum on the Waterloo battlefield, Memorial 1815, to officially kick off the fifth season of the project. As always, an international team of veterans, serving military personnel, archaeologists and students from a variety of backgrounds have joined us in Belgium. […]

Dig Diary Day 2: Musket Balls at Mont-Saint-Jean

Evidence of Evacuation? In our freshly dug trenches along the east edge of the Mont-Saint-Jean orchard, an exciting discovery is in progress. The farm of Mont-Saint-Jean, which served as a field hospital during the fighting, is widely considered to have been several hundred yards behind the front lines of fighting, safely out of harms way. […]

Dig Diary Day 3: Of Reading, Remembering and Ridges

Reading to Remember 2019 When Private John Peter Leonhard first laid eyes on Hougoumont farm, he recounted the utter hopelessness the sight instilled in him; “The doors were open, one could see the freshly broken loopholes in the wall. Ha, I thought to myself, here you’ll settle in but leave nevermore. Good night world.” Private John […]

Dig Diary Day 4: Behind the Scenes

As the first fantastic week of Waterloo Uncovered 2019 nears its end, we’re taking you behind the scenes of the dig and shining a light on two often overlooked parts of the team: the specialists who help us discover our finds, and the photographers who record them. Meet the Metal Detectorists The Waterloo Uncovered team […]

Dig Diary Day 5: Bringing History to Life

Redcoats Return As the first week of Waterloo Uncovered 2019 draws to a close, the sites of Hougoumont and Mont-Saint-Jean have once more been been overrun by British redcoats. Today’s visitors are members of the Coldstream Guards 1815 group, a military and living history society dedicated to the Coldstream Regiment of Foot Guards. The Coldstream […]

Dig Diary Day 6: Mass Musket Balls and Scots Guard Buttons

It’s the first day of our second week here at Waterloo Uncovered! After a weekend of recovering from their exhausting hard week last week, the team are back and ready to do it all over again. Waterloo Uncovered: Live! You might have seen Waterloo Uncovered live this morning on BBC Breakfast, where Professor Tony Pollard […]