WW1 Battelfields of Verdun in 2011, whats still to been seen on sight only

[gerrit]

Although a new way of cutting trees has arrived in the Verdun Woods we were still able to find some relics.
They used to tear down trees and open up the ground with bulldozers to remove the trees.
Now they have new treecutters, no need to open the ground, pity for us.
A metaldetector is no option a 10,000 dollars fine when they catch you there with one.
But this year wasnt so bad.
even found a german lice comb! sticking out of a trenchwall at the Kaisers tunnel.
The lice comb is the only thing we took, rest is only photographed.

[mad_ideas]

some very nasty looking stuff! thanks for sharing

regards Mad.ideas

[talltom]

very nice and interesting finds well done

tom

[NickW]

Not seen the blue marker paint before - usually just red/orange used to mark bones as well as shells! any idea if it some sort of colour coding for the demineurs?

[Good Pwny]

Very cool! I enjoy seeing any relic and WW1 stuff.

[Nick Hessens]

A metaldetector is no option a 10,000 dollars fine when they catch you there with one.

Oops!


Interesting finds! Thanks for showing.

Regards

[gerrit]

Not seen the blue marker paint before - usually just red/orange used to mark bones as well as shells! any idea if it some sort of colour coding for the demineurs?

20years ago the site was loaded, 100-->200 shells, 50-->100 pieces of helmets, tins etc on a footballfield was very common.
They didnt used any colours then.
The last 10-->12 years they clean the fields of every thing that can be seen on sight on surface, Shells were usually marked with red paint.
Didn't matter if it was scrapnel/gas or HE shells, all was painted red.
This year they run out of red it seemed, LOL.
It much harder to find something when the ground stays intact when they remove trees......so very less is found, no need to take lots of red paint anymore.
the woodworkers now just take paint in any colour, they even make signs on the road with the same colour.

Searching on sight has almost come to an end......
Now its time again to go into the dugouts again, just like in the early days...LOL
90 years of rain sometimes wash away mud that covered colapsed entry's of dugouts.
You have tp enter trough a foxhole to get into large chambers 15-->25 feet below surface.
We found some with the beds ( rotten) candles and wood stoves still there.......bizar.....

15 years ago:

[NickW]

Stayed at Charny Sur Meuse this year and spent a couple of days in the Argonne - it was the same there - I was expecting the usual bulldozer tracks and lots to see, but no such luck, just old tracks to get the trucks in which looked like they had been there since before the (relatively recent) trees were planted and the trees cut down with chainsaws - before they could not do this as the trees took up shell splinters as they grew and broke the chains on the saws. Been going there regularly for 25 years and recall the sights when they cleared the first growth of trees since WWI - piles of shells, grenades, wine bottles, metal water bottles, full boxes of ammunition everywhere and lots of bones - even the odd complete skeleton - certainly made you stop & think! Rarely saw helmets or rifles, even though I was often there just after the bulldozer - I think the machine operators took most of those. Have never taken a detector and these days only take photos - managed to find quite a lot of debris to photograph in the Argonne, but obvious signs of detecting there - Visited the Ravin du Genie, which was very interesting.

[ObKrieger]

Europe is so war-torn. I can't believe there is that much ordinance just laying around.

If some soccer mom here found a shell like that in her backyard she would have a hissy fit and it would be on CNN within a few minutes. They would probably blame it on terrorists, too.

The only stuff we can find here is Civil War lead shot and whatnot, although where I live, one can go down to where the old French portage that ran down from Lake Erie used to be and he or she could find all sorts of stuff like hoseshoes, shot, muskets, etc.

Thanks for posting this thread! Verdun is on my bucket list.

[gerrit]

Stayed at Charny Sur Meuse this year and spent a couple of days in the Argonne - it was the same there - I was expecting the usual bulldozer tracks and lots to see, but no such luck, just old tracks to get the trucks in which looked like they had been there since before the (relatively recent) trees were planted and the trees cut down with chainsaws - before they could not do this as the trees took up shell splinters as they grew and broke the chains on the saws. Been going there regularly for 25 years and recall the sights when they cleared the first growth of trees since WWI - piles of shells, grenades, wine bottles, metal water bottles, full boxes of ammunition everywhere and lots of bones - even the odd complete skeleton - certainly made you stop & think! Rarely saw helmets or rifles, even though I was often there just after the bulldozer - I think the machine operators took most of those. Have never taken a detector and these days only take photos - managed to find quite a lot of debris to photograph in the Argonne, but obvious signs of detecting there - Visited the Ravin du Genie, which was very interesting.

25 years ago we did use detectors, not knowing the penalty was that big.
found rifles, lots of bajonets etc...luckely we were not caught then......
Piles of 75 mm cartridges made by the Remington plant were found at the ravins just outside the red triangle...those where the days.

I was in the Argonne too this year, i found the lice comb in the trenches by the Kaiser Tunnel, visisted also the large Argonne US monuments and cemetery.
Very impressive.
Also did the Butte de Vauquis, great too, found a 75 HE shell on the walking path 25 yards from the entry point where they give you the helmets.
No one noticed it in all these years, only a rim off the back was visible.
They where very excited, LOL

Searched for years, np for me to see that old one....LOL
Ive also found a nickeled copper basket of a german fieldkitchen, very weird.
the regiment stamp on the site was clearly visible.
Donated that one to the Argonne 14-18 museum.
Fellow dutchman is running it, nice museum , only has finds of the battlefields.

Ger