From a research point of view this was one of the toughest sites of the year. There was such a huge volume of history that the researcher and historians had to carry folders of notes everywhere so they could field questions about the camp - how long was a barrack block, how many prisoners were in the camp in September 1804?
We knew in advance that the hunt for the main prisoner cemetery was going to be difficult - there were so few details outlining an exact location. That meant that we had to find out who owned land in the most likely areas, so that when we finally identified a spot we'd have permission to open a trench.
An elaborate cameo had been prepared for this shoot. We hoped to forge a £1 bank note using a carved bone printing block. Hours were spent hand carving the bone and making paper to print the note onto, finally everything was ready. Our master forger pressed the note... only to discover it hadn't worked! Obviously the prisoners who forged notes in the camp knew something we didn't.
