Heres a link to the latest on the Vampire dugout project at Zonnebeke......

http://www.polygonwood.com/Polygon%20Wood%...ir%20Dugout.htm

regards
Tom

I managed to see the Time Team Special on this.

So, what are the plans for it now. Are they trying to preserve it, or get more artifacts out of it?

I enjoyed that link, saw the time team special too, nice to see more info.....



Barbara..

Amazing piece of engineering would be interesting to hear how preservation will continue if opened

There are no immediate plans to re-open the dugout. It is sat now full of water as it had for the 90 or so years prior to its re-discovery. The water in this case is the best preservative.

Best regards

Iain

it would be nice if the dugout could be re opened and fully explored to see what exactly is down there, i watched the time team special and there is quite a lot of the dugout still to explore.

A great piece of engineering.....

I think it was said that the reason for opening up the Vampire dugout was to see what was there at the present time because it is threatened by the extended quarrying of the brickworks. Now whether the dugout remains in reasonable condition will be due more to what is happening "next door" to the field where the dugout is situated than damage from the atmosphere, because as Iain has pointed out, it is now safely full of water which is its best preservative. After all its survived for 90years in this state. I also believe I have read that there may be many more dugouts in this atea of Flanders which remain undisturbed. Certainly every now and again one reveals itself when a hole appears in a field, or even adjacent to a certain farmhouse which required remedial work to be undertaken.
Below a photograph of the Vampire site taken last October, a container covering the entrance to the dugout.
regards
Tom
Click to view attachment

Using a map from the "Linesman" package, there is a dugout marked (flag) just where the Vampire dugout was located, and as you can see there are other dugouts marked similarly in the area nearby.
regards
Tom
Click to view attachment

The future of Vampir dugout is close related to the impact of the cay excavations in the nearby brickworks site and the influence on the geological structure of the different clay layers in the area. When the pumps were stopped after our excavation on the end of April 2008, it needed about 8 to 9 weeks (during the summer) to refill with groundwater again (the full 14m shaft).

When we entered the dugout last November, for the last time, to reinforce and ensure the structure before closing it again, we rechecked the measure points again placed by the Glasgow university. The main gallery was not moved one mm. But we did mentioned that the pressure on the wooden upper beams of the gallery to the second incline was increased a lot, what had result in a distortion of some of the beams. This shows that there really is something going on.

The excavation of the clay on the site next to Vampir, is already on a depth that is lower than the level of the dugout and still the groundwater level isn’t changed, what is a good sign. We continue to evaluate the situation.

Regards,

Kristof Jacobs
Project director “Vampir”
A.B.A.C.

Thank you for posting, I have been wondering if there was any more information about this very interesting site.


Barbara..

Thanks for the update lads.

Peter

If the clay that surrounds the Vampire dugout is similar to the Blue clay we have here in North Lincolnshire Kristof, it is fairly impervious to water. So if the dugout is sat in this clay, it should retain the water in it even if the surrounding clay levels are at lower level (providing the encroachment of the clay excavations is not too close). The effect of a hot, dry summer can lead to cracks appearing in the clay, which water then turns into a conduit allowing the passage of water through the clay.
regards
Tom

Kristof, you suggest it is extra pressure from the clay that's causing problems. But isn't it more likely those beams have deteriorated because the've been exposed to oxygen for a long time during excavation & exploration?

Roel

Roel,

I can assure you that the wood of the dugout is nearly in the same condition as the day the pomps fell still in 1918. People who had the chance to visit the dugout can confirm that. During the weeks of the archaeological excavations the wood did not deteriorate so that this could be the reason of the distortion of some of the beams.

The only thing what happened, related to the presence of oxygen was that all the metal parts, like the I- beams, rail tracks and corrugated iron sheets were black when we let the ROV cam in the gallery the first time, and when we entered the dugout the first hour. After a day all those things turned beautiful red - brown coursed of all the metal particles that glue on the surface op the structure parts. After the refill of the dugout all turned black again.

The distortion of those couple of beams was caused by the change of inner contra pressure. The part of the construction where those beams are located, was filled with mud and clay, when we found it. Also the entirely construction was full of water for 90 years. That means that there was a constant inner pressure from inside the dugout on the walls and roof, by the water and the clay. The moment you clear the clay and mud the inner pressure diminished and the outside pressure on the construction increased. That caused the distortion.

Those critical places were propped on a professional way so that the dugout is safe for the near future. I hope this is a clear answer to question, Roel.

Regards,

Kristof

Roel,

A little addition. Water or oxygen itself does not infect wood. Olney the combination of it can course moulds and those moulds infect the support capability of the wood. The dugout has been inspected by professor Joris Van Acker, Laboratory of Wood Technology Faculty of Bioscience Engineering Ghent University, and he could not find any infected spot. He decelerated the dugout as well preserved.

The result of a bad conservation (none at all) and the infection of moulds on a dugout was the total destruction of Bremen –Redoubt on nearly 100 meter from then location of Vampir.

http://www.flanderland.de/locations-orte/b...bt-(zonnebeke)/

Regards,

Kristof

Thanks for your reply, Kristof: everything's clear now.
I was worried about the oxygen because what I've seen during the excavation of a WWII-bomber.
Wingmarkings and even maps that were dug up from up to six meters deep looked brand new, only to vapourize within minutes.
Everything had to be kept wet to make sure the oxygen didn't destroy it.
Ofcourse the infected materials were nowhere near as solid as the beams in Vampire. But still I thought the oxygen could weaken the beams, and with the load of clay above how much would it take to get them cracking?

Roel

Wood that has been under water for a long time is in danger of distortion/disintegration as it dries out which is why old ships raised from the bottom are kept wet until the timbers can be treated (often by impregnating them with a form of hardner/stabiliser)

Just seen the TT repeat on C4
Presumably once the water has entered the dugout, the clay will stop it draining away, so would the water that was pumped out have been 90 years old ?

Grant

Its being repeated tonight at 9 pm Ch 4.

John

Almost all water is billions of years old, if you mean has this particular volume of water been in that particular place for 90 years the answer is probably yes

Tom,

I never watched the Time Team special on the Vampire Dugout, so thank you for posting the link to the project. A very interesting, & a very worthwhile project