Military Archaeology: How Detectorists and Major Finds Improve our Understanding of History

Military and battlefield archaeology has become a popular pastime and a multi-million-pound business, but there are few texts available on the subject. This book presents an analysis of various battles fought around the world from medieval times to the present, including battlefield recovered artefacts, military aviation crash sites, Second World War pill boxes, air raid shelters, POW Camps, and other structures. It also emphasizes the United States of America, examining the artefacts, wreckology, structures, and dumping grounds left behind by the American military forces at the end of the Second World War.

Format: Hardback
Length: 272 pages
Publication date: 30 November 2023
Publisher: Pen & Sword Books Ltd

Military and battlefield archaeology have long been considered a sub-discipline of traditional historical archaeology. Once the domain of learned history professors and their disciples, military archaeology has evolved into a globally popular pastime and, in some cases, a multi-million-pound business. Thanks to the advancements in technology, even students with modest budgets can embark on archaeological endeavors, albeit in a layman's sense. Despite its widespread appeal in uncovering insights into our turbulent past, there is surprisingly limited literature available on this intriguing and historically significant subject. The objective of this paper is to present an analysis of various battles fought across the world, from medieval times to the present, and the archaeology recovered from investigations conducted by professionally sanctioned groups and hobbyists. The context encompasses a wide range of battlefield-recovered artifacts, including general battlefield relics, military aviation crash sites, Second World War pillboxes, air raid shelters, POW Camps, and other structures. Special emphasis is placed on Britain's ally during both world wars, the United States of America, examining the artifacts, wreckology, structures, and dumping grounds left behind by the American military forces at the end of World War II in the UK and Europe.

Military Archaeology: How Detectorists and Major Finds Improve our Understanding of History is a valuable addition to the military and literary analysis of warfare archaeology from the Boudiccan uprising to the 2003 Invasion of Iraq.

Dimension: 234 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781399023238