Archaeology
Missing WWII USAF airman recovered from crash site in Sicily
The Cranfield Forensic Institute, working in collaboration with the POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA), has assisted in the identification and recovery of a missing USAF airman near Caltagirone, Sicily.
In 1943, Second Lieutenant Allan W. Knepper (age 27) of the United States Air Force, took off in his P-38 Lightning from a base in Tunisia. The P-38 is a single-seat, twin piston-engined aircraft used for various aerial combat roles, including as a highly effective fighter-bomber.
His squadron was tasked with attacking Axis forces in support of the U.S. Army’s beach landings in Sicily. As they approached their target, intense anti-aircraft fire hit the squadron and Knepper’s aircraft was struck by flak and crashed.
Contemporary reports noted the absence of a parachute, indicating that Knepper died upon impact and was declared missing in action.
For 80 years, the location of the crash site was lost to history, until researchers from the DPAA at the United States National Archives, uncovered a German report detailing the crash of two P-38 planes.
This report enabled archaeologists to pinpoint Knepper’s likely crash site, where extensive research and excavations have recovered material evidence linked to Knepper for identification.
Dr David Errickson, Senior Lecturer in Archaeology and Anthropology at Cranfield University’s Forensic Institute, said: “At the crash site, you have to use the pattern of the wreckage to judge the location of where the pilot will most likely be. In the case of a single occupant fighter plane such as this, it’s easier because you’re only looking for one person, but in something larger like a bomber it can be much more difficult.”
Everything found at the crash site has been meticulously recorded and handed over to the local authorities – in this case the Italian police – who will then transfer the evidence over to either the US Embassy or direct to the DPAA lab for DNA analysis and identification.
According to the researchers, the process took 8 years from the start of the recovery, until the DPAA was able to officially confirm that Lieutenant Allan W. Knepper had been identified.
His remains have been returned to his hometown of Lewiston, Idaho for burial, and a rosette has been marked alongside his name on the Tablets of the Missing at the Sicily-Rome American Cemetery to indicate that he has now been accounted for.
Header Image Credit : P-38 – Public Domain
Sources : Cranfield University
This content was originally published on www.heritagedaily.com – © 2023 – HeritageDaily
Archaeologists from the State Office for Monument Preservation and Archaeology (LDA) of Saxony-Anhalt have rediscovered the Mallerbach Chapel at the site of the Kaltenborn monastery.
Between 1524 to 1525, a large number of peasants, urban lower classes, and lesser nobles living in the German-speaking areas in Central Europe rebelled against a combination of economic, social, and religious factors. These include:
Economic hardship and inequality: Peasants faced heavy burdens from taxes, dues, and rents imposed by landlords, the church, and secular rulers.
Feudal oppression: Many peasants grew increasingly resentful of the limitations placed on their freedoms by feudal lords, including restrictions on hunting, fishing, and access to communal lands.
Religious influence: The Reformation inspired many peasants who saw in it a call for social and economic reform against a corrupt church.
Legal grievances: Peasants sought greater control over local governance and justice. They were frustrated by the arbitrary decisions made by their lords and demanded more influence over the laws and rules that governed their daily lives.
Image Credit : LDA
Following the outbreak of the Peasants’ War, insurgents from the nearby villages of Riestedt and Emseloh plundered the Kaltenborn monastery near Allstedt in the German district of Mansfeld-Südharz, leading to the monastery’s decline and eventual dissolution in 1538.
According to a press statement by the LDA: “It’s destruction – an act of rebellion against the Cistercian convent of Naundorf, which was in charge of the Chapel of St. Mary and to which the Allstedt residents were subject to taxes – can be seen as the first flare-up and harbinger of the coming uprising of the ‘common man’ against the authorities.”
Recent excavations at the monastery site have located the 12th/13th century Mallerbach chapel, a sacred place of worship for pilgrims who came to witness a weeping image of the Virgin Mary.
Archaeologists have uncovered the original floor plan of the chapel, which measures around 17 metres in length with a rectangular choir and semicircular apse. Excavations have also found the altar foundations, as well as traces of burning from the time of the German Peasants’ War.
Header Image Credit : LDA
Sources : State Office for Monument Preservation and Archaeology (LDA)
This content was originally published on www.heritagedaily.com – © 2023 – HeritageDaily
Archaeologists have excavated the remains of Fregellae, an ancient city in central Italy that revolted against the Roman Republic.
Fregellae was founded during the 4th century BC near the present-day commune of Arce in the province of Frosinone. Due to the strategic location of the city, the Romans established a colony in 328 BC as a bulwark against Samnite incursions.
In 125 BC, the inhabitants of Fregellae revolted against Rome, demanding equal standing as Roman citizens. In response, Rome dispatched a force led by praetor Lucius Opimius, who swiftly suppressed the uprising and razed the city to the ground.
Archaeologists from the Leibniz-Zentrum für Archäologie (LEIZA) and the University of Trier have excavated the remains of an agricultural villa which belonged to the local elite within the extent of Fregellae.
Image Credit : Dominik Maschek
Based on archaeological evidence, the villa was constructed around AD 45 and produced wine, fruit and grain in a dedicated production complex.
Prof Dr Dominik Maschek, project manager at LEIZA, said: “The wine was probably not only produced for the local market. It is quite possible that it was traded within Mediterranean exchange networks as far as Spain and France. The cultivation of grain and fruit, on the other hand, was certainly intended for the local market.”
Excavations also revealed traces of the encampment used by the Roman forces that destroyed the city. The camp covered an area of 90 x 143 metres and was surrounded by a defensive rampart and ditch.
Archaeologists suggest that the destruction of Fregellae dealt a severe blow to the region’s economy, leaving the area uninhabited for more than 170 years until the site was reused as a rubbish dump in AD 50.
Header Image Credit : Dominik Maschek
Sources : Leibniz-Zentrum für Archäologie (LEIZA)
This content was originally published on www.heritagedaily.com – © 2023 – HeritageDaily
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