Evidence of the 14-18 conflict in the bricks...

[Max Poilu]

On my way back from the Somme last week I stopped off to see a French friend renovating his daughter's house in a former front line village. He very kindly presented me with the cadeau below - a brick he had removed from the house containing a piece of cast iron shell casing baked into the original clay.

Apparently this is not that uncommon, after the war the bricks were manufactured from local battlefield clay and occasionally remnants of the war would creep into the process.

The house was built in 1922 - I believe the area was previously thought of as a Zone Rouge.

[Max Poilu]

The two pieces:

[Paul Reed]

Fascinating - I have seen this in trees in the Ancre valley, but never in a brick! Thanks for sharing that.

[andigger]

Its almost like the sea shell fossils that show up in stone. This is really fascinating.

Andy

[Fabiansson]

I have seen this in trees in the Ancre valley

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

In trees?

/Nils

[Max Poilu]

I think Paul is either referring to the shell splintered trees that can still be seen with war detrius embedded within or the occassional tree that grows and brings up within it's roots pieces of shell, water bottle etc.