WWI battlefield preserved in virtual reality

Archaeologists in West Flanders, Belgium, are recreating a World War I battlefield, known as Dig Hill 80, as a virtual reality experience.

In 2015, construction workers uncovered the site, which held remarkably preserved German trenches. Lead archaeologist Simon Verdegem quickly launched a crowdfunding campaign to finance a full excavation before developers built on the land, raising roughly $200,000 from 2,679 backers.

The excavation team recovered the remains of 125 soldiers, some only fifteen years old, alongside personal items like helmets, toothbrushes, and even bottles of HP sauce. The Applied Research in Immersive Experiences and Simulations (ARIES) team at Virginia Tech documented the site with drones, high-resolution photography, and 3D scans, collecting over three terabytes of data. ARIES is now building a web-based platform where users can explore the recreated trenches and examine digital representations of the artifacts.

Manager Sarah Tucker is carefully curating the digital exhibition, selecting objects like German military buttons, distinguished by regional symbols, and a harmonica to highlight the lived experiences of soldiers. The team anticipates making the virtual experience available to the public early next year.