Vilnius 1812
From Beyond the Grave
Description:... The first published account & groundbreaking record of the extraordinary discovery of a Napoleonic mass grave in Lithuania in 2002, the victims being soldiers from the 1812 campaign. Author Paul Richardson was given full access & information by the authorities, allowing him to document, with original photographs this time capsule of remains & artifacts of the Grande Armee.It begins with a necessary but concise history of the 1812 Campaignand its aftermath and how the many bodies came to be buried in mass graves in and around Vilnius (there is ample evidence that there are more mass graves that are unlikely to be found as they are now probably under new buildings in the city. This is followed by an in-depth explanation of the archaeological excavation of the gravesite, the cataloguing of the bones and number of people buried (and their gender as there were not only males ), artefacts, including buttons and pieces of uniforms and equipment from many of Napoleons regiments, but no side arms as these would not have been thrown into the grave, and the history of the ongoing restoration of these artefacts.
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