Fulbeck Manor excavation uncovers Second World War and 18th-Century artefacts
A dig at a key Second World War site uncovered numerous historic items in days, including ammunition, tags, and coins.
The Digging Market Garden project at Fulbeck Manor found key features, including a buried path that ran alongside Nissen huts when the house was billeted..
They also found significant items like a kit bag tag marked “Trooper Mills”, a rove and nail for a Nissen hut roof, coins including a 1929 shilling and 1923 French currency, and buttons.
A deeper trench also revealed 18th-Century items like wine bottle bases, animal bones, and tobacco pipes.
British archaeologist and presenter of Time Team, Professor Carenza Lewis from the University of Lincoln, was co-directing the dig with the University of Oxford.
She emphasised that this archaeological work was essential for recovering and preserving the fading living memory and incomplete historical record of this Second World War site before it was lost to future generations.
“This sort of work is really important because the generation that remembers it are in their 80s at their youngest, or in their 90s or 100s, and that living memory that can tell us what was going on is being lost.
“You’d think we’d know everything from 80 years ago, but the fog of war meant much wasn’t recorded or was altered.”
“Much of what was recorded was destroyed because people didn’t think they needed to keep a record.
“The fact is we know from living memory that there were buildings here, but we don’t know what they were for, or precisely where they were, or what they looked like, or what role they played in the war.
“This was the last bit of peace that many people would have had if they flew to Arnhem, with many never to return, and so we have this last chance, really, to start to try and recover that before it becomes just history, rather than remembered history.”
The dig is a partnership between SKDC, Oxford University, the University of Lincoln, Wings to the Past, and Operation Nightingale, assisting wounded and sick military personnel through archaeology.
It was carried out by military service personnel and their families, and aimed to commemorate the Arnhem campaign while also providing a therapeutic well-being activity for military families and those struggling with issues like trauma or resettlement.
The dig aims to serve as proof of concept for a longer-term project.
According to Carenza, the current three-day dig is being used to gauge interest and assess how well the project works in providing a positive experience for the participating military families and service personnel.
If the initial dig is successful, she plans to advocate for expanding the project into a multi-year programme.
This could involve additional fieldwork, documentary research, and further excavation campaigns scheduled a few times per year.
Over an extended period, the cumulative, incremental approach of "trench by trench, inch by inch" would allow the team to build up a more comprehensive understanding of the site's history, particularly its use during the Second World War.
The researchers are especially interested in investigating surviving Nissen huts and other structures at the bottom of the hill, which they hope to access safely in the future.
The project is part of South Kesteven District Council’s 80th anniversary of Operation Market Garden, the largest airborne landing.
On Friday, the council announced a nearly £150,000 investment from the National Lottery Heritage Fund for 'Soldiers From The Sky,' celebrating the district's role in two iconic Second World War operations.
The £147,550 grant will support a heritage trail highlighting South Kesteven's role in Operation Overlord (D-Day) and Operation Market Garden.
Paratroopers landing at Arnhem in September 1944.
Major General Roy Urquhart, commander of the British First Airborne Division, was billeted at the manor in the 1944 build-up to battle with engineering units in the stables – now Fulbeck Craft Centre.
His daughter Judy Urquhart visited Fulbeck for the dig and launch announcement.
Professor Tim Clack from Oxford University saw the site as significant due to evidence of long-term occupation.
He was interested in material like ammunition and the dog tag, viewing the evidence as a way to triangulate historical sources and oral histories.
He believed the findings, including the personal history from the dog tag, would allow them to trace the fate of the individual and potentially even contact their relatives.
He was excited about the site's potential to document wartime material and preserve Lincolnshire’s airborne heritage.
He saw great value in using the archaeological evidence to educate future generations about this important historical period.
He said the work would enable them to capture and commemorate a history that is on the "cusp of disappearing," as there are still some Second World War veterans alive, though they are elderly.
He warned of the relevance to current situations, noting that the unprecedented peace since the Cold War was fading.
“If you look at the situation in Ukraine, the Middle East, parts of East Africa, and so on, the world is much less safe now than it was 10 years ago.
“The direction of travel is one away from peace and security, potentially towards a situation where there could be a war and a need for mobilisation like we haven't seen previously.”
He referenced Conservative pledges for National Service and generals advocating a “war footing.”
“Events like Arnhem carry a kind of potency in that within the not-too-distant past, the entire country was mobilised against an existential threat, and that had huge social, economic, and personal implications.
“And so making sure that we are aware of that past could inform decision-making and provide a better understanding of where we’ve come from as a people.”