WE’RE BACK! After two years of being unable to travel to Belgium due to the pandemic, we have finally been able to return to Waterloo with a new cohort of 20 international veterans and serving personnel. Read on to learn more about our first day of digging, and to watch our daily summary video!
Photos by Chris van Houts.
First Impressions
Since arriving on Saturday, the team have been getting to know each other – and the battlefield. After a briefing at our HQ at the base of the iconic Lion’s Mound, they were treated to a tour of the battlefield with our archaeological supervisors Professor Tony Pollard and Dr Stuart Eve.
Round Robins
On Monday, the team officially began their archaeological education with a series of Round Robins! Here’s how it works: our veterans, serving personnel and students were split into Trench Teams, each assigned to a different archaeological supervisor. Each Trench Team then learnt a key archaeological skill, including levelling, drawing, photography and more. The teams then switched supervisors, so by the end of the Round Robin activity, they had a solid foundation in all the basics they’ll need to get stuck in to excavation!
Breaking Ground & First Discoveries
And with the key skills learnt, our excavation could officially begin. Survey began at Plancenoit, and ground was broken at Mont-Saint-Jean as we opened the first trenches of 2022 – stay tuned to find out what we discover!
Check out our video recap of day one of our 2022 Excavation – featuring round robins, breaking ground and more!
We wouldn’t be able to conduct our groundbreaking archaeological excavation at Waterloo, or deliver our life-changing veteran support, without the generosity of our supporters. To help us continue our work and support those who have served their country when they need it the most, please consider making a donation.
