EAST AYRSHIRE, SCOTLAND—Excavation of Camp 22 by a team from GUARD Archaeology has uncovered evidence of its use a training facilities for the Tank Corps, a prisoner of war camp that held German and Italian soldiers during World War II, and a repatriation center for Polish soldiers. Six brick and concrete buildings, nine drain junction boxes, five concrete paths, and a road were found. “A series of 24 concrete-surrounded postholes on the north side of the road almost certainly relate to what would have been a fairly substantial fence dating to the POW camp phase of use,” archaeologist Christine Rennie told Culture 24. The team also found condiment bottles, a teapot lid, polish bottles, and cutlery. Some of the items clearly did not belong to the prisoners, such as a radio label and beer and whisky bottles. “The recovery of a plastic cosmetic compact and a baby’s feeding bottle from secure contexts is quite intriguing. It could be an indication that at least one Ayrshire lass left the county when her Polish husband was repatriated,” Rennie said.
