ABSTRACT
From 2017, a team of archaeologists, military service personnel and veterans have been excavating parts of the 1917 battlefield of Bullecourt in France. The work brought together participants from France, the UK, Australia and Germany – the combatant nations at Bullecourt 100 years before. Ostensibly, the project aspired to trace the final locations of the tanks destroyed in this action, but the programme had much broader outcomes. This chapter discusses how those affected by the wars of the 21st Century reacted to findings on a field of conflict a century earlier. It also describes how the ordnance, human remains, and shared experiences were particularly challenging for participants compared to more traditional archaeological sites. Finally, this chapter examines the benefits of fieldwork on sites of kinship for military veterans, for facing fears and for illustrating empathy. The excavation (and wider desktop studies) was entitled ‘Exercise Joan of Arc’ and forms part of the Operation Nightingale programme, which uses archaeology to facilitate recovery and improve the well-being of veterans, including those with significant physical and psychological injury.
