Archeologists Find Nazi Bunker Built Inside a 1,700 Year-Old Roman Fort That Germans Kept Intact

On the channel island of Alderney, archeologists find a Nazi Bunker constructed in an ancient Roman fort kept intact by the German. This recent discovery caught attention because it was fairly intact despite construction facilities by the Third Reich.

It is the first instance of a modern construction combined with ancient Roman architecture that is unheard of, a modern tower within an older tower structure.

The ancient structure is a three-in-one, a world war two war bunker, a nunnery, and fittingly a Roman military fort over its time of existence.

A fort of many occupations in the Channel Island

As old as 1,700 years, the Nunnery used to be a Roman fort and medieval barracks, a Tudor governor's house in the Middle Ages. Its latest use was by the Germans in their Alderney occupation in the second world war, reported BBC via MSN.

One of the most preserved Roman forts used as outposts in the British Isles is close to the Lager Sylt Concentration Camp, whose details were unearthed last after the second world war.

Alderney Nunnery is where the bunker is situated inside 320 square feet building, which has rounded towers constructed in 350 A.D. (Anno Domini). When the Roman legions settled in ancient Britain, cited the Daily Mail.

One unique feature that caught the researchers' eyes is the Nazis preserved the ancient Roman fort, not tear it down, according to Dig Alderney, a charity that gives money for archeological research. An observation post was also built on the outer face of the ancient Roman towers, also keeping masonry intact like the bunker inside. The archeologists find a Nazi bunker that kept everything intact is a bonus.

Dr. Jason Monaghan, who led the excavation, talked about how this bunker was squarely in place, close to the ancient 10-foot walls built by the Romans legions. He gave credit for the care German's placed on their construction inside and keeping the tower intact.

Other details of the ancient fortification

The Alderney fort has been the site that houses the Tudors, the British army, and the Germans who added a bunker and watchtower to the old walls that have stood for 1,700 years, cited the Alderney website.

Other structures that did not last in the Channel Island are from the Middle Ages and Napoleonic period that survived in Britain's dark days, and some ruins were found to be of Roman origin in 2011.

Monaghan said that more investigations will be directed at the different occupiers and how they relate to the history of the Alderney structures. More insight into how the facilities were developed or devolved in the centuries that followed. He remarked there are three levels from Roman, Dark Ages, and modern time that need to be identified and classified separately. For the year 2021, the dig has been stopped, but in 2022 there will be a resumption of activities.

German occupation of Alderney fort

From 1940 to 1945, the German forces held sway over the isle, with most of the 1,500 locals who had to move to Britain before their arrival. It is the only place that Hitler achieved a foothold in the war years and had the Lager Sylt concentration camp, Lager Norderney. These camps were destroyed before getting abandoned, and evidence destroyed too.

The Alderney Island is home to German war structures, with two work camps too. That co-existed with an ancient Roman fort when archeologists find a Nazi Bunker neatly constructed surprisingly.