TW: Holocaust

The public perception of archaeology is often strewed with misconceptions and myths that limit the field and misconstrue its relevance. Archaeology in very basic terms is the study of the human past through material remains (Boudreau et al 2023). While the general public understands these vague facets of archaeology they seem to not comprehend that the past can cover something as ancient as Cahokia to something as contemporary as Woodstock. A study, by Ramos and Dugganne (2000), found that 12% of their participants when asked what word they would use to describe archaeology replied “antiquity” and another 9% answered “ancient societies.” Around 99% of that same group of respondents when asked “Do you think that archaeologists study…” chose the option of “ancient civilizations” (Ramos and Dugganne 2000).

Archaeology is no longer simply fascinated with these great ancient civilizations, but more and more focuses on the events that have occurred within the last century. Just because the previous century has had more accounts and written histories doesn’t mean that there isn’t room for archaeological exploration. Archaeology can reveal details that written records have simply missed such as the gravity of the tragedies at the Treblinka death camp. 

Treblinka was a Nazi death camp in Poland that after only 16 months was destroyed and covered with a farmhouse, trees, and farming land to disguise the atrocities that had occurred (“Archaeologists” 2014). In 1946, investigators of the German war crimes found evidence of the site such as burnt posts and ashes mixed with sand that had “numerous human bones” (Sturdy Colls 2012).  Aside from this, a majority of the information about the site came from Nazi confessions and a few survivors (Pappas 2022). The post-war investigations were the last true studies of the camp and there was no evidence of mass graves and killings until the work of forensic archaeologist Caroline Sturdy Colls (Sturdy Colls 2012). 

Sturdy Colls began with non-invasive methods of surveying the site in order to respect the bodies that remained there (Pappas 2022). She made use of geophysical surveying tools such as GPR, electrical imaging, and resistance survey then eventually a LiDAR survey (Sturdy Colls 2012). The LiDAR revealed various structures such as mass graves, one that was 63 x 58 feet in size (Pappas 2022). Sturdy Colls and her team were permitted to excavate a section of the possible graves; they found shoes, ammunition, and bones, many of which had cut marks indicating some form of assault (Pappas 2022). As excavations of the different sites within Treblinka continued, Sturdy Colls would find evidence of two gas chambers. They reported brick wall foundations and even tiles that were stamped with Stars of David likely to “lull [the] Jewish prisoners into compliance before they were killed” (“Archaeologists” 2014).

Before Sturdy Colls’ research “everybody has assumed that because the history books said it was destroyed, it was” (Pappas 2022). Archaeology was able to uncover some of the monstrosities of the Holocaust that many deny ever happened. Archaeology forces people to face the facts with evidence like artifacts that are often undeniable. Today’s population forgets that at some point we will all be history and what has occurred in the last century is a part of the history of humankind. Archaeology is crucial to our recent history as it unveils the truth of what many don’t wish to record or see. 

References:

“Archaeologists Delicately Dig up Nazi Death Camp Secrets at Treblinka.” NBCNews.Com, NBCUniversal News Group, 29 Mar. 2014, www.nbcnews.com/science/science-news/archaeologists-delicately-dig-nazi-death-camp-secrets-treblinka-n66241.

Boudreau, Diane, et al. “Archaeology.” National Geographic, education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/archaeology/. Accessed 3 Dec. 2023.

Duggane, David, and Maria Ramos. Exploring Public Perceptions and Attitudes about Archaeology, Society for American Archaeology, 2022, documents.saa.org/container/docs/default-source/doc-publicoutreach/harris_poll1999.pdf?sfvrsn=8fefd9a4_4.

Pappas, Stephanie. “First-Ever Excavation of Nazi Death Camp Treblinka Reveals Horrors.” LiveScience, Purch, 17 Aug. 2022, www.livescience.com/44443-treblinka-archaeological-excavation.html.

Sturdy Colls, Caroline. “Treblinka: Revealing the Hidden Graves of the Holocaust.” BBC News, BBC, 23 Jan. 2012, www.bbc.com/news/magazine-16657363. 

Additional Sources:

Sturdy Colls, Caroline. “Holocaust Archaeology: Archaeological Approaches to Landscapes of Nazi Genocide and Persecution.” Journal of Conflict Archaeology, vol. 7, no. 2, 2012, pp. 70–104. JSTOR, https://www.jstor.org/stable/48601876. Accessed 3 Dec. 2023.

Killgrove, Kristina. “21st Century Archaeology Is Something out of Sci-Fi.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 19 Feb. 2016, www.forbes.com/sites/kristinakillgrove/2016/02/19/21st-century-archaeology-is-something-out-of-sci-fi/?sh=6fde61ac3e7a.