Two German bunkers from World War II discovered in Rouen

Historical excavations reveal two German shelters in Rouen

Deux bunkers allemands découverts à Rouen lors de fouilles archéologiques. Crédit photo : France 3 Normandie

Two German bunkers discovered in Rouen during archaeological excavations.
Photo: screenshot France 3 Normandie

January 19th, 2019: two German bunkers discovered in Rouen, Normandy
Author:
Marc Laurenceau

Since January 14, 2019, the city of Rouen, Normandy, undertakes important work on the forecourt of the cathedral. In the context of preventive archeology, before any excavation action, archaeologists can probe the soil and carry out a soil control, in this case up to one meter deep. It is during these routine searches along the rue du Change that specialists from the French National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research (INRAP) have discovered several testimonies of the past.

Many objects have been discovered in the remains of cellars: glass bottles, pharmaceuticals… which have one thing in common: that of bearing the stigma of the fires caused by the Allied bombing from April to June 1944.

Among the cellars, two concrete structures were also discovered: they could be German shelters for the troop, installed during the occupation near the cathedral. This location was wisely chosen: the Allies were trying as best they could to not destroy the historic buildings. According to the first elements discovered by the archaeologists of INRAP, the Germans have built these two shelters in place of already destroyed cellars. They will continue the excavations and the researches concerning these bunkers, which were not known by the municipality: no reference of these shelters could be found to date in the archives of the city of Rouen.

DDay-Overlord.com – Reproduction subject to authorization of the author – Contact

Leave a Reply