Post by UKarchaeology on Apr 2, 2016 21:43:08 GMT
The excavation of a Spitfire from its wartime crash site has set the standard for future aviation digs, England's historic environment body has said.
The plane crashed in Holme Fen in Cambridgeshire in November 1940, killing Pilot Officer Harold Penketh.
Historic England said involving forces veterans in the dig made it "an exemplar for future such endeavours".
Veteran Gary Phillips, 57, who suffers from PTSD, said it was "like therapy" because he helped a fellow soldier.
A team from Oxford Archaeology East worked with veterans and service personnel to excavate the Spitfire in October, during which some of the pilot's remains were discovered.
Mr Phillips, who is from Liverpool, said: "It's like a fellow soldier and we're going to help him - he served his country and died doing it and I lost friends doing the same."
Full story/pics: www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-35884242