A Spatial Analysis of World War II Artifacts at Camp Hearne, Texas

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2025: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

This study examines the archaeological findings from a World War II prisoner of war (POW) Camp in Hearne, Texas. From 1943 to 1945, the camp held over 4800 German soldiers and about 500 Japanese soldiers. Archaeological investigations conducted between 1996 and 1997 at the site focused on the southern sections of Compounds 2 and 3, where German non-commissioned officers and Japanese soldiers were held. Over 1400 artifacts were recovered from excavations and surveys, including materials from uniforms, personal items, identification tags, military insignia, field equipment, POW-made items, and other objects. While these artifacts provide insight into the lives of the German POWs, a spatial analysis of them has yet to be completed. This study aims to elucidate the German POW experience through a spatial analysis of the artifacts found at Camp Hearne and contribute to the archaeology of World War II.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 90th Annual Meeting, Denver, CO (2025)   •
• SAA 2025: Individual Abstracts

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 52736