Digging around Saint-Petersburg. The condition of things found in 'blue' clay.

[Paul G]

PG

[ottomaton]

We had 'blue slipper' back home where i grew up...only nothing interesting in it there. Over here it's usually a mix of sand\gravel or peaty bog...not good for preservation.

I was under the impression that peat bogs were good for preservation, hence bog men or is that something else entirely?

BTW, IIRC the reason that heavy clays like this preserve so well is that the heavy fine particles drive out all of the oxygen, no no oxidation can occur.

[Matt Starr]

Peat is a fantastic preserver of metal items. The acidic and no oxygen conditions mean that little/no oxidation occurs and the items come out looking like new. Sand and gravel is a whole different matter but you couldnt ask for more than peat

[FestungSpanien]

I know that this has nothing to do with bog preservation but I am curious as If you ever found rest of uniforms digging
Ace

[Mat Holloway]

Question:
Has anyone ever found a deceased ww2 german soldier fully clothed in a peat bog?

[FestungSpanien]

Well I do not know now but I recall seeing a complete german skeleton digged up with all his field gear (boots included) in some Russian web page.I think I took the link here at the forum.
And I ask the matter of the uniform because I saw one in a French museum, a tunic from a Coastal Artillery soldier, and I get very impressed.That's all.
Ace

[vic007]

Very nice.
Thank you for sharing Oleg

[Bernard]

Very impressive !

[Simon O.]

Peat is a fantastic preserver of metal items. The acidic and no oxygen conditions mean that little/no oxidation occurs and the items come out looking like new. Sand and gravel is a whole different matter but you couldnt ask for more than peat

Well, the stuff i find in boggy areas are usually rusted to nothing, it may be that the items haven't gone down deep enough into the low oxygen levels. Very often we're talking inches under the surface\water. Leather items seem to keep well though.

Here's a question. what effect does freezing have on preservation? Up here the ground is frozen 6-7 months of the year or more.

Found plenty of uniform items on the surface at about 1500m up or more. The stuff is usually beaten up by the winds and ice but thanks to the lack of vegetation and long winters it's all still there, albeit in tatters. Trousers, gloves, coats, splinter pattern winter uniforms, all sorts.

[Jean-Loup]

"Here's a question. what effect does freezing have on preservation? Up here the ground is frozen 6-7 months of the year or more.

Found plenty of uniform items on the surface at about 1500m up or more. The stuff is usually beaten up by the winds and ice but thanks to the lack of vegetation and long winters it's all still there, albeit in tatters. Trousers, gloves, coats, splinter pattern winter uniforms, all sorts."

Could you post pictures of some of these? Sounds cool.
Freezing should keep items in exelent condition. I saw picture of bodies of some explorers near one of the poles, found 100 years after their deaths. Everything was still in exelent condition, including the bodies...

[Douglas Jr.]

Oleg,

Congratulations! That is something REALLY amazing! I´m speechless with the condition of the lid, band and liner. I wish I could find a Panther or a Tiger I under the clay!

Or... you may want to sell this stuff (the clay, I mean) to those crazy guys who want to live 200 hundred years! I bet some people would buy it!
Guys like, let´s say, Michael Jackson!

Cheers,

Douglas.

[Douglas Jr.]

Here's a question. what effect does freezing have on preservation? Up here the ground is frozen 6-7 months of the year or more.

Found plenty of uniform items on the surface at about 1500m up or more. The stuff is usually beaten up by the winds and ice but thanks to the lack of vegetation and long winters it's all still there, albeit in tatters. Trousers, gloves, coats, splinter pattern winter uniforms, all sorts.

Hi Simon,

I remember that some years ago, some cientists found two graves of sailors who died in an ill-fated expedition to North Pole in around 1846-8 and were buried there.

More than 140 years later they were exhumed and they found not only the uniforms and clothes in very fine condition but also their corpses and internal organs. However, it was not only the cold that preserved teir remains but also connected with their coffins, which were sealed perfectly.

Douglas.

[WaA257]

Douglas those were the crewmen from the Franklin Expedition. They found three bodies on King William Island all perfectly preserved. Two Royal Navy sailors and a Royal Marine. Everything on the was intact including the eyes. It was eerie to look into the eyes of someone that was deceased for over 140 years. What I though was pretty neat was that they found a living descendant of one of the sailors and brought him with them. He was actually able to look into the face of his ancestor.

[ritterkreuz1945]

Oleg,
You are indeed lucky my friend to live where history is under your feet! I would love to come help you look sometime, and learn and watch!!
I hope you sell some of your stuff on the e stand so that you can continue to "explore". WOW!! that was great!!!

Michael

[PHILBROWN]

thought

how would the leather liner cope with drying out after being wet for 60 years, would it turn to dust or crumble? phil.