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Gallipoli survey to reveal war secrets

Australia is to be part of a major three-nation archaeological survey of the Gallipoli battlefield, researchers say.

Associate Professor Chris Mackie from the University of Melbourne says the survey will combine conventional mapping with electromagnetic surveying to produce the most comprehensive historical and archaeological study ever conducted there.

"Most of the attention in the post-war period has been on the cemeteries," he says about studies of Turkey's Gallipoli Peninsula.

"One of the things we'll be spending a great deal of time on is the mapping of the trenches to see how they cohere with surviving maps of the trenches and exploring what lies beneath."

Mackie says there's a "distinct possibility" that a wealth of material dating back to the days of antiquity lies buried beneath the battlefield, perhaps the most historically significant military site in Australia's history.
Read entire article at ABC Scince Online (Australia)