MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Falklands, first war mapping project at Mount Tumbledown is completed

Waterloo Uncovered surveyed the area around Mount Tumbledown, to gain a better insight into the battle that took place during the last days of the 1982 war

The first-ever intensive archaeological survey of the Falklands War took place last week. Waterloo Uncovered, a team made up of researchers, veterans and archaeologists surveyed the area around Mount Tumbledown, in order to gain a better insight into the battle that took place there during the last days of the 1982 conflict previous to the Argentine surrender.

This was a first stage of a long term project, which is part of a broader effort to map and record the many battles which were fought there during the Falklands War.

At the same time, the team hoped to help returning veterans come to terms with how the conflict had affected them. In effect two British Army veterans who fought in the Battle of Mount Tumbledown are on a return visit to the Falklands for the archaeological and therapeutic mission.

Jim and Jon, two former Scots Guards, are on the Islands with the Falklands War Mapping Project, sharing first-hand accounts of the battle. On 13 June 1982, the Scots Guards took part in close-quarters fighting overnight, to secure the strategic position overlooking the Islands' capital Stanley occupied by Argentine forces

The two veterans suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder and those accompanying them say the return to the battle site, 40 years later, can serve as a form of therapy.

The charity Waterloo Uncovered has a track record of using archaeology as therapy for trauma and injury.

Rob Eldridge, the organization's welfare officer, told Forces News: “This exposure is very important and the fact that they're re-exposed over the duration of the project adds a quality which is afforded few people who even come on a pilgrimage and a journey back here.”

Chief Operating Officer Katie Buckley said: “Being up Tumbledown with two veterans who fought tooth and nail and went through, honestly, what sounds like hell, to hold that position and to take that position, it's not like anything else we've ever done.

”The sheer scale and bleakness of the landscape is absolutely awe-inspiring. Having Jon and Jim with us, going through that, is an experience that I will absolutely treasure for the rest of my life.”