Towards an archaeology and geography of Second World War German munitions storage sites in north-west Europe |
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| Authors: | David G. Passmore David Capps-Tunwell Martijn Reinders Stephan Harrison |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Department of Geography, University of Toronto, Mississauga, Canada;2. Centre de Recherche d’Histoire Quantitative, Université de Caen-Normandie, Caen, France;3. Independent Researcher, Arnhem, Netherlands;4. College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Cornwall Campus, Penryn, UK |
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| Abstract: | This paper reviews the signature characteristics of extant Second World War German army munitions storage landscapes in forested areas of north-west Europe with particular reference to sites in north-west France and the Netherlands. Archaeological survey, aerial photographs and documentary archives show the geography of munitions sites exhibit a regulated pattern of bunker disposition and spacing that is adapted to local road configurations and terrain. Non-hardened bunkers form the predominant feature in munitions depots and conform to a five-/six-fold typology defined by non-invasive survey and excavated examples from the Netherlands. The typology reflects an evolution of storage protocols towards all-round protection from the effects of weather and blast, but also reveals variation in size, structural characteristics and function that poses questions for further study. It is anticipated that these results will be of diagnostic value in future Second World War conflict archaeological survey of German military support structures in formerly occupied territories. |
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| Keywords: | WW2 conflict archaeology munitions storage bunker typology |
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