Thread: "I Have Prussians In My Attic" - Bones From Waterloo!

A collector of Waterloo artifacts recently revealed that he was likely in possession of Prussian bones from the battlefield in Plancenoit, where he lived. These are believed to be from the forces of Gebhard von Blücher who fought the French in this area of the battle. They are apparently very rare since most bones from the Waterloo battlefield have been used to purify sugar, which is rather curious in itself. One supposes they will conduct DNA tests of the bones, and perhaps provide a more precise nature of their origin.

Comments from any Waterloo aficionados would be interesting as these are quite unique finds from one of the most significant battles in human history.


"‘I have Prussians in my attic’: Surprise revelation leads to rare Battle of Waterloo discovery"

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/p...arte-rcna67582

Link says bones from British soldiers.

Comments from any Waterloo aficionados

The movie was good, starring Plummer as Wellington and Steiger as Napoleon.
I have visited the battle site and seen the monument that towers over it. The lion of Waterloo.
Some believe the battle was actually won on the playing fields of Eton school.
I signed the visitors book at the centre then walked back into the town and had a Belgian beer.
Belgium is famous for its battlegrounds, beer, chocolate, art.
Other than Waterloo train station in London, I'm not sure what more I can add.

Originally Posted by ox

Link says bones from British soldiers.

Perhaps speed reading failed you here. The story said the collector with the Prussian bones had a friend with bones of British soldiers. The collector's bones are believed to be those of Prussians.

Quoting from the article - "The man also told him about a friend who “owns four British soldiers,” Wilkin said, adding that the second man was a metal detector enthusiast who had illegally searched a second battlefield in Waterloo. Analysis of those bones by a team of anthropologists and forensic doctors confirmed last week that they were the remains of at least six British soldiers, not four as was initially assumed."

The Prussian bones were not a part of the above group. They were from a separate find and are "currently undergoing forensic analysis in the Belgian city of Liège....." There were a number of sets of bones in this story, some British, and some Prussians. That is where DNA testing should confirm their origin.

Dem bones, Dem bones..........

Acknowledged.

Forgot to mention the Swedish link, glam rock group ABBA.
They wrote and sang a song called Waterloo that despite no votes from the French jury won the Eurovision Song Contest in the 1970's.
There has never been a pop group more fabba than ABBA.

I can't find any reference to Swedes fighting at Waterloo, but Blucher might have joined their army in his youth.

I live in what was basically a theatre of war. The War of 1812-14 saw battles fought in Niagara and there are plenty of monuments and even a graveyard with KIA from both sides down the road. Occasionally excavations have dug up human remains from that war and by law it has to be reported and job stopped until archaeologists have a look.

At Waterloo the use of cannon shot was quite predominant. I never knew of shot that contained explosives and other projectiles before but always suspected it. The solid iron balls could do a lot of damage on their own as they bounced along the ground but we’re not as effective at Waterloo because of overnight deluge of rain softened the turf.

https://ageofrevolution.org/200-obje...-at-waterloo/L

Reminded me of my youth finding a small pyramid of stacked cannonballs while playing in the woods nearby. I guess I should be glad I didn’t hit with a hammer the one I managed to loosen and drag home from that rusted stack. Subdivision there now so rest likely buried.

Any place that had a battle is likely to have bones, and if captured soldiers were moved their bones might lie there.
English Civil War claimed the lives of 200,000. After the Battle of Dunbar, soldiers from Scotland were marched 100 miles to Durham and their bones have been uncovered there.
The final battle of the Wars of the Roses (Bosworth 1485) saw the death of the king. But Richard III's bones were eventually found 20 miles away under a car park at Leicester.
He was finally given a proper burial under a slab in the cathedral.
It seems that soldiers fleeing for their lives were likely to head for a church. We see evidence of musket ball marks on walls after some battles.

Watched Waterloo on YouTube last night. Steiger may be guilty of overexpressing a madman mentality as Napoleon but Plummer looked cool as a cucumber as Wellington. Whether that was how they behaved in real life I can't say. Battle scenes weren't good but it is a 1970 flick. Did that final point blank cannon firing at French survivors actually happen?

Originally Posted by zinjanthropos

Did that final point blank cannon firing at French survivors actually happen?

I'm not ducking out of this one, but Dywy might be better to answer it.

Originally Posted by Double Helix

A collector of Waterloo artifacts recently revealed that he was likely in possession of Prussian bones from the battlefield in Plancenoit, where he lived. These are believed to be from the forces of mod apk von Blücher who fought the French in this area of the battle. They are apparently very rare since most bones from the Waterloo battlefield have been used to purify sugar, which is rather curious in itself. One supposes they will conduct DNA tests of the bones, and perhaps provide a more precise nature of their origin.

Comments from any Waterloo aficionados would be interesting as these are quite unique finds from one of the most significant battles in human history.


"‘I have Prussians in my attic’: Surprise revelation leads to rare Battle of Waterloo discovery"

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/p...arte-rcna67582

The Battle of Waterloo was fought on June 18, 1815, between the French army led by Napoleon Bonaparte and the coalition forces led by the Duke of Wellington and Gebhard von Blücher. The battle was a decisive victory for the coalition forces and marked the end of Napoleon's reign as emperor of France.

The artifacts mentioned in the article, Prussian bones from the battlefield in Plancenoit, are significant because they provide a tangible connection to the events of the battle. They may also offer insight into the experience of the soldiers who fought and died on the battlefield.

DNA testing could potentially confirm the origins of the bones and provide further information about the soldiers who lost their lives in the battle. Overall, the discovery of these artifacts is a reminder of the human cost of war and the importance of remembering and honoring those who have made sacrifices in service to their country.