I am so very proud to have been part of the Digging In Project in Glasgow. The below description is taken from the excellent website of the project. Not only did I get to give several talks and work with the amazing team, but I also got to film my own video within the Trench for my Feeding Under Fire youtube series. I loved every single minute of this project and it remains one of the best experiences of my academic career.
Find out more by watching – Digging In Video and visiting the project website.
DIGGING IN recreating a section of Allied and opposing German trenches in Pollok Park, Glasgow from 2015-19. It brought together a diverse range of specialists and interest groups – archaeologists, historians, teachers, engineers, re-enactors and University Officer Training Corps units – to explore the semi-subterranean world of trench warfare.
The reconstructions drew on a variety of sources, including archaeological excavations carried out in France and Belgium by the Centre for Battlefield Archaeology at the University of Glasgow. In the reconstructed trenches, visitors were able to gain some small insight into the earth-walled world that was both home and hell on earth to millions of men and boys from so many different nations and backgrounds.
The aim of DIGGING IN was not to replicate the experiences of those who fought on the Western Front. That would be impossible, and indeed disrespectful; we can only imagine what those soldiers endured. Instead, it created an environment in which the myths and realities of trench warfare could be explored and interrogated. Through active participation, visitors could better understand how soldiers learned to survive not just the violence of war but also the mundane challenges of daily life, thrown up by a world cut into the world.
Curating History: Dr Simon H. Walker 