The news this summer that a second full skeleton had been uncovered at the Battlefield of Waterloo this July got the press attention, but what can we learn from this latest discovery?
After all the hype what was actually found? The intact skeleton of a male was found buried behind Mont St Jean farm, alongside a few disarticulated human bones almost certainly removed during surgery at Mont St Jean farm (which was a field hospital during the battle) and the skeletons of three horses.
No remnants of uniforms or any other form of identifying material was found with the body, which had almost certainly been stripped, nor did the horses have any equipment with them. The skeleton has no signs of physical trauma to the body so the cause of death of this individual may never be discovered.
Indeed despite the great hype, it is unfortunately the case that this ‘great discovery’ will actually reveal nothing at all. It is a pity, but so it is.
