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Archeologists find U.S. Army bacon and sunscreen tins buried at Salisbury Plain

Wessex Archeology says it has in recent years found remains from World War II mess kitchens in the area.

By Fred Lambert
Archeologists say they have found U.S. Army bacon and sunscreen in tins buried at England's Salisbury Plain, home to the ancient ruins of Stonehenge. Wessex Archeology says several remnants of a World War II mess facility have been unearthed there in recent years. Photo by Wessex Archeology
1 of 2 | Archeologists say they have found U.S. Army bacon and sunscreen in tins buried at England's Salisbury Plain, home to the ancient ruins of Stonehenge. Wessex Archeology says several remnants of a World War II mess facility have been unearthed there in recent years. Photo by Wessex Archeology

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TROWBRIDGE, England, July 5 (UPI) -- Archeologists say they have unearthed several tins for U.S. Army bacon and sunscreen at Salisbury Plain, England, home of the famous Stonehenge ruins.

Wessex Archeology shared the find on its website in celebration of American Independence Day.

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Salisbury Plain has been a British military training ground since the early 20th century, but U.S. military forces staged there in preparation for the 1944 invasion of Nazi-occupied France during World War II.

"The military has been on Salisbury Plain for decades so it's not been ploughed up or disturbed by developers," the BBC quoted Matt Leivers, from Wessex Archaeology, as saying.

According to Sue Nelson, finds supervisor at Wessex Archeology, the remains of World War II mess kitchens have been discovered in the area in recent years.

The BBC reports archeologists found at least 16 tins marked "U.S. Cream Sunburn Preventive."

Nelson wrote that the contents of those tins were "still intact."

"The state of preservation of some of the U.S. issued provisions goes to show how well-made they were," she wrote, noting, however, that the bacon tins were found to be empty.

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