The Time Team trip to Jersey involved two quite different sites. The impressive defences of Mont Orgueil castle presented unique challenges to the team, but Les Gellettes would bring its own surprises. The site consisted of an anti-aircraft gun emplacement, built when the Channel Islands had been occupied by the German Army during World War II. Les Gellettes had been suggested to the production team as a possible site for investigation by an amateur archaeologist well known to us, a certain Mr Robinson who had become intrigued by the fact that no site of this kind had ever been excavated before.
With the team set up on site it was time to consider our approach. Although the hilltop on which Les Gellettes sits was covered in earthworks, trenches and platforms the team had only a few aerial photographs to go on as all records had been lost. Similar emplacements on the island gave the team some idea on where to begin with the aim being as complete a survey as possible of the site. Of course, we'd need to keep an eye of for live rounds - something which made some of our team very nervous. Along with a munitions expert our regular team were joined by historians and specialists in World War II weapons and small finds.
Without any plans Phil wanted to get to grips with the layout of the site as soon as possible. This was more difficult than anticipated as the heavily wooded site meant that John and the geophysical survey team couldn't do a great deal. It was all going to be down to excavation and a lot of work by our resident human survey kit - otherwise known as Stewart Ainsworth.
As Stewart got to work planning the visible earthworks and other features covered in vegetation throughout the woods Phil got to work opening our first trench on the site of what we hoped was an anti aircraft gun. Several of these small guns would have been placed around the hill to protect it from incoming enemy planes. First signs were encouraging with Phil discovering a 20mm shell. Now that the team were beginning to get an idea of the layout of the site Phil felt confident enough to open further trenches that may reveal occupations huts, machine gun nests, communication trenches and command bunkers. As excavation got underway inds had began to appear thick and fast - coins, bottles, plates and building materials.
With Stewarts help a clear plan of the layout of the site was starting to come together. The way in which defences and command structures on the hill were constructed was defined by the need to protect and serve the biggest archaeological target left - one of the 88mm gun emplacements. These huge weapons, larger than the anti-aircraft battery we had already excavated - would have required a team of men to keep it firing. Maintaining six of these guns along with other defences on the site meant that 200 men were permanently stationed at les Gellettes.
Over three days we discovered evidence of the lives of the men who were stationed on this hill and the way in which a site like Les Gellettes functioned. With the help of the islanders, who kindly shared their stories and memories of occupation our team gained a sobering insight into the cruelty and hardships endured by the Channel Islands during the dark days of World War II. Our experiences on Jersey showed that archaeology doesn't just have to be about our distant past but can also help tell stories concerning much more recent, and sometimes painful, history.
