Welcome to Skylarcs
Skylarcs vzw is a non-profit organisation that aims to promote and conduct research of conflict archaeology and military history.
In Memoriam:
Private John Lambert,
1st The Newfoundland Regiment,
10/7/1900 (St-John’s, Newfoundland) - 16/8/1917 (Langemark, Belgium)
During archaeological work on the gas pipeline near Langemark, the mortal remains of 8 First World War soldiers were found.
They were buried in a temporary field
cemetery near a medical post, active during the Battle of Langemark on 16 August 1917.
Fierce shelling completely destroyed the graves and although the units could be traced, the chances of identification seemed very poor, until thorough historical research followed by DNA led to the identification of a young soldier from Newfoundland, Private John Lambert.
Read his full story here.
Identity discs: The recovery and identification of First World War soldiers located during archaeological works on the former Western front.
During the First World War, German, French, and British soldiers were provided with identity discs or bracelets containing personal information to ensure that they could be identified, were they to die in battle. Each combatant nation developed their system in response to the difficulties encountered in relation to the identification and burial of dead on the battlefield, in accordance with the requirements of the 1906 Geneva Convention. As a result, it is possible to encounter a variety of designs issued during the war, including historical patterns which had been re-issued. Though it is not unusual to discover the presence of skeletal remains from the First World War during archaeological works in France and Belgium, it is a rare occasion to also recover an identity disc. This paper will describe how soldiers located during archaeological works are identified, making recommendations for the improved recording of skeletal remains recovered during the excavation process to assist the investigative procedures. These recommendations may also be applied to the discovery of more recent military remains, e.g. soldiers who died during the Second World War, where evidence of war crimes may be present.
Simon Verdegem is a Belgian archaeologist, who works closely with the CWGC. He tells the story of recovering the remains of soldiers on the Western Front and his involvement in DigHill80.
Missing at the front
In progress
Gouvernment grant research 2020-2021
'Missing at the front' is a research project in cooperation with the In Flanders Fields Museum and falls within the project grant 'archaeological synthesis research 2020' of the Heritage Agency of the Flemish Gouvernment.
