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Archaeologists in northern France have unearthed the bodies of 21 German soldiers from World War One in an elaborate underground shelter that was destroyed in a French attack in March 1918 and hasn't been opened since.
Individual war casualties are still frequently found during construction work on the former Western front battlefields of France and Belgium but the discovery of so many soldiers in one location is rare.
The tomb poignant and grisly sheds light on the lives of the soldiers who died in explosions from heavy shells that penetrated the tunnel.
"It's a bit like Pompeii" Michaël Landolt the French archaeologist leading the dig told SPIEGEL ONLINE. "Everything collapsed in seconds and is just the way it was at the time. This is an extraordinary find."
The men were from the 6th Company of the "Reserve Infanterie Regiment 94." Their bodies had been left in the dugout because retrieving them was deemed too dangerous. A total of 34 men in the shelter were killed in the attack. Troops managed to haul out 13 of the dead at the time. |