4 thoughts on “Excavating a WW2 tank at Denbies Wine Estate”

1. but wait why would they bury the tank in the first place???

   February 9, 2017 at 11:37 pm Reply

   1. It’s poor man’s way of preserving a vehicle. Essentially, mud is the best choice when it comes to burying stuff and, upon excavating it, finding it like if it was new and untouched. The lack of oxygen in mud means that oxidation won’t take place, so metals are preserved very well in mud.

      Now, to be honest, I don’t get it why they buried the tank. It might’ve not been buried at all. Tanks have been found fully covered in mud without somebody’s intervention. Nature did it all. Rains, snowings… all that water went into the ground and swelled it up.

      February 9, 2017 at 11:49 pm Reply

      1. I’m not so sure about mud lacking oxygen. Especially since in the video ground looked to be very dry. It can’t hold the candle to swamp when things come to preserving tanks.
         Also the tank seems to be buried quite deep. The hole they dug looks 4-5 feet deep. I doubt 70 years are enough to change landscape so drastically. But then it doesn’t explain how tanks (more than one!) can go missing without anyone noticing or mentioning in the documents. “Oh, we lost a couple of those somewhere, sir, they’re tinier than they look”, “that’s quite alright, lads, no biggie”.

         February 10, 2017 at 7:49 am

2. They buried it and 3 others to get rid of them. Was used by the Canadians for training.

   February 10, 2017 at 10:52 am Reply