What kind of World War 2 things have you found? Xavier (11)

Hi Xavier,

I’ve only ever worked on one site from the Second World War and that was an RAF airfield at Jurby on the Isle of Man. We had to dig some extremely long trenches before part of the site was redeveloped but unfortunately, we didn’t find a thing! The best bit about digging there was getting to have our lunch in the control tower every day where we had a brilliant view of the runways and hangars. I have done some work on a First World War internment camp and you can find out a little more about what I discovered there if you read the answer to the ‘What other things have you discovered’ question.  

There are many ways to investigate the Second World War using archaeology, the most obvious is to excavate and study battlefields, army camps and airfields like the one I worked on but there are also archaeologists who specialise in looking at sites where aircraft crashed or ships sank. There are also lots of buildings that still survive such as pill boxes, bunkers and Nissen huts and war memorials that were erected following the end of the war.

I’ve included a picture of a pillbox below as you might be able to spot one when you’re out and about as there are still thousands remaining all around the country. You can also find out more about life in Britain in the Second World War on this BBC website. You might also be able to visit one of the Imperial War Museums around the country, or take a look at some of the information available on their website.