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World War II Bunker Discovered Within Roman Tower

Monday, August 30, 2021

ALDERNEY, CHANNEL ISLANDS—BBC News reports that archaeologists and volunteers excavating a Roman fort at the site of the Alderney Nunnery have found a twentieth-century bunker nestled in the ten-foot-thick walls of an ancient tower. The bunker was constructed by the German military during their occupation of the British Channel Islands from 1940 to 1945, where they operated two concentration camps during World War II. The German army also constructed anti-tank walls and tunnels at the site. Archaeologist Jason Monaghan said the site of the Alderney Nunnery has been occupied for about 1,700 years, with new structures built on top of the old ones during the medieval, Tudor, and Napoleonic eras. “We’ve just come across three floors all on top of each other and we’re just trying to disentangle what eras they come from,” he explained. To read about a coin hoard uncovered on the island of Jersey in the Channel Islands, go to "Ka-Ching!"

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