Gallipoli trenches mapped out by team of archaeologists
A shell splinter recovered from Anzac Cove, Gallipoli, in 1915. Similar battle relics have been found during the recent survey at Gallipoli. © IWM
An international team of archaeologists and researchers has begun an extensive survey of Gallipoli in Turkey.
The experts plan to create a detailed layout of the peninsula, using original maps and GPS technology.
Gallipoli was the scene of some of the fiercest warfare of the First World War.
Thousands of Turkish and Allied combatants lost their lives there in 1915.
So far, the team – comprising experts from Turkey, Australia and New Zealand – has discovered many remnants of war.
An Australian using a sniperscope and his spotter with an improvised periscope in a trench, Gallipoli, 1915 © IWM
As well as shrapnel and bullets, more unusual pieces such as ceramic rum flagons and Ottoman-era bricks with Greek lettering have been found.
After initial assaults on Gallipoli in April 1915, the Allied invasion lost its momentum in the face of strong Turkish resistance.
Complex trench systems developed as the situation descended into an uneasy siege-like state. In some places, the Turkish and Allied lines were just a few dozen metres apart.
Many of the trenches are still visible today, and the archaeologists plan to map out the full extent of these complicated networks.
Due to memorials and cemeteries, it is not possible to carry out a full excavation of the site. Instead, satellite technology is being used to map out the terrain, which includes ravines, thick undergrowth and rocky headlands.
Conditions at Gallipoli were notoriously bad. Intense heat during the summer months resulted in high levels of disease. Surviving combatants recalled the terrible problems with flies, sanitation and supplies.
The campaign ended in disaster for the Allies. After nine months of unsuccessful fighting, they left the peninsula. With this new study, the physical signs of occupation they left behind can be greater understood.
