What happened to the bones of the Waterloo battlefield?

What happened to the bones of the Waterloo battlefield?

In June 1815 the French army under the command of Napoleon was decisively beaten by an allied army led by Britain and Prussia at Waterloo in what is now Belgium. This titanic clash took a terrible toll on both men and animals. An estimated 20,000 men lost their lives that bloody day. As archaeologists have attempted to unpick the events of Waterloo a mystery has emerged. What has happened to the remains of the soldiers who fought there?


Very few human or animal remains have been found on the site of the battle. However, an international team of archaeologists and historians have joined forces in a bid to solve this enduring puzzle. A new discovery this summer has found some astonishing evidence to now say why that is. It seems enterprising profiteers likely plundered the site for illegal bone trading, predominantly for the European sugar industry.


Joining Dan on the podcast is Professor Tony Pollard archaeological director of Waterloo Uncovered, historian and scholar Rob Schaefer and Bernard Wilkin Senior Researcher at the Belgian State Archive. They discuss their theory about the fate of the Waterloo remains and why so few have survived.


The paper Tony recently published on graves at Waterloo is available to all as a free open access download - These spots of excavation tell: using early visitor accounts to map the missing graves of waterloo.


Warning: this episode contains frank discussion of dead bodies, animal carcasses, mass graves and amputations.


This episode was produced by Mariana Des Forges, the audio editor was Dougal Patmore.


If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!


To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episoder(1490)

Soho: London's Most Notorious Neighbourhood

Soho: London's Most Notorious Neighbourhood

Soho was once a thriving melting pot of speakeasies, sex work and organised crime. From razor gangs of the 1920s to money laundering, the area has always been a hotbed for thieves, conmen, drug dealer...

24 Feb 202529min

Dogs

Dogs

From the small corgis that drove cattle to Smithfield market to the Dalmatians that protected carriages from highwaymen, humans and dogs have relied on each other for millennia. Historian and dog-love...

21 Feb 202526min

Josef Mengele

Josef Mengele

The Nazi doctor who committed heinous experiments on prisoners of Auschwitz was harboured by a network of Nazi supporters in Argentina after the war. As an SS officer and physician, he conducted horri...

19 Feb 202544min

Why Isn't Canada the 51st State?

Why Isn't Canada the 51st State?

Dan explains how Canada has resisted many American attempts at annexation since the Revolution in 1775. From the tariff tensions of 1911 to President Trump's recent remarks about making Canada the 51s...

17 Feb 202544min

The Bombing of Dresden

The Bombing of Dresden

As the Second World War neared its bloody climax, Allied bombers unleashed a devastating firestorm on Dresden. In just two days the historic city was reduced to rubble, and tens of thousands were kill...

14 Feb 202552min

The Siege of Malta: Knights Hospitaller vs The Ottomans

The Siege of Malta: Knights Hospitaller vs The Ottomans

This is the story of Suleiman the Magnificent's attempt to conquer Malta, the headquarters of a Catholic military order that had become a thorn in his side. They were known as the Knights Hospitaller,...

12 Feb 202544min

Iwo Jima: WWII in the Pacific

Iwo Jima: WWII in the Pacific

80 years ago, on the rocky volcanic island of Iwo Jima, the vicious battle for the Pacific reached ever bloodier crescendos. As Allied forces crossed the Rhine in Europe, American Marines won a costly...

10 Feb 202541min

Nostradamus

Nostradamus

For centuries, Nostradamus has been hailed as the man who saw the future—his cryptic quatrains allegedly foretelling everything from the French Revolution and the rise of Hitler to the 9/11 attacks an...

7 Feb 202530min

Populært innen Historie

rss-dette-ma-aldri-skje-igjen
rss-katastrofe
henrettelsespodden
historier-som-endret-norge
rss-historiske-romanser
rss-benadet
historier-som-endret-verden
sektledere
med-egne-oyne
aftenposten-historie
rss-frontkjemperne
rss-nadelose-nordmenn-gestapo
historiepodden
rss-strid-de-norske-borgerkrigene
rss-gamle-greier
vare-historier
undersattene
rss-historiepodden-ww2
rss-alt-var-bedre-for
taakeprat