ABSTRACT
This chapter adopts a modern archaeological-anthropological approach to examine the engagement of soldiers and the underground spaces of the Western Front, exploring how the human senses operate to 'create place'. Over the last two decades, an anthropology of the senses has begun to redress the balance between the prior visual dominance of Western culture and acknowledge the role of other senses. Trenches, shell holes, etc. are man-made subterranean features on the front lines where at least one part is directly open to elements. In these places the senses of sight and hearing hold primacy over touch, with smell and taste remaining at the bottom of the sensorial ladder. Dugouts, souterraines and subways are man-made or natural features utilized for the protection of people and equipment. Only artificial light is available here. Fighting tunnel systems are man-made and completely enclosed tunnel systems constructed for the purpose of attack or defence. Only artificial light, and often no light at all, is available.
