All the major bones of n°2 were found to be intact, but we were still able to strongly suspect he was killed by artillery fire, for his canteen had been torn open by a shrapnel fragment that came at a tangantial angle. Some bullets in his ammo pouches were also shrapnel damaged.
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In this picture you can see n°2's sock, the green thing on the left.Comment
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Here are n°2's socks after a good washing. Wool can survive remarkably when buried!Last edited by Jean-Loup; 03-20-2009, 03:05 PM.Comment
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N°2 also still had some coins on his femur, where his pants pocket would have been.Comment
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Finaly, n°2 had mysterious little glass tubes in his pocket as well. We broke one by accident, and it contained some kind of alcohol or ether or something. Does anyone know what this is? Maybe some medical equipment, maybe some kind of drug?
The archeologist wanted to keep these tubes for himself to find out what they are, so took great care of them, and put them on a box so as not to loose them. Then somebody else took the box away, and the tubes have not been heard of since.Last edited by Jean-Loup; 03-20-2009, 03:06 PM.Comment
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This is body n°5 (for the full story that develloped about number 5: http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...d.php?t=308676 ). His head had already been moved before the picture was taken, as were most of the items on him. You can see he was lying on his back. In the pic, his head would have been at the bottom left, and his feet at the top right. (actualy, here his legs are mixed with those of n°1)
N°5 was the body with the most objects still on him. He still had his helmet, his dog tag, his belt with full ammo pouches but empty baionet sheath and pistol holster, a wound badge, a pocket watch, and his canteen.Last edited by Jean-Loup; 03-20-2009, 03:08 PM.Comment
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N°5's legs were fractured in several places, and grossely bent out of shape. His helmet had been pierced by two shrapnel fragments. His canteen and its bakelite cup had also been damaged, as well as some of the bullets in his ammo pouches. N°5 was killed by multiple schrapnell wounds, probably from an artillery shell.
The reason why n°5 still had so many objects on him was probably due to the terrible wounds he received. His body must have been severely mangled, and the civilians decided not to mess with it too much: they apparently only took his baionet, his pistol, and suprisingly, seeing the condition of the legs, his shoes.
Here we see the legs of N°5. they are so severely fractured that it is difficult to follow their course.Last edited by Jean-Loup; 03-20-2009, 03:09 PM.Comment
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Here I outlined the course of his legs in white.Comment
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Here you see his legs one taken out of the ground. Both tibias are fragmented, and the right femur is also severely fractured.Comment
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Here is his helmet, with two schrapnel holes.Last edited by Jean-Loup; 08-13-2007, 08:30 PM.Comment
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Here are his canteen and his bakelite cup, both damaged by schrapnel, just like the helmet was. A probe indicates the course followed by the schrapnel that pierced his canteen.Comment
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And not only did n°5 get receive these terrible wounds, but you can add to that that he had already been wounded once during the war.Comment
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Body n°4 and n°14 both had severely damaged skulls when we discovered them. Also found in the grave were two damaged helmets. One was pierced by a bullet from behind, the other had a piece of shrapnel go in one side and out the other. It is clear that those two helmets went with those two skulls, though we did not find out which went on whitch.
Here is the skull of n°14...Last edited by Jean-Loup; 03-20-2009, 03:11 PM.Comment
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He may have been wearing this helmet... (in hand, traces of yellow camo paint and full chicken wire are visible on this helmet)Last edited by Jean-Loup; 03-20-2009, 03:11 PM.Comment
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Or he could have been wearing this helmet.Comment
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