Reports by David McQuillen
The Republic of Palau is an archipelago of some 350 islands located on the western rim of the Car... more The Republic of Palau is an archipelago of some 350 islands located on the western rim of the Carolines in Micronesia and near its southern tip lies the island of Peleliu: a small 15km2, low platform reef island of uplifted coralline limestone reef and high limestone ridges (Figure 1). Although it may appear isolated today, in 1944 Peleliu stood at a strategic crossroads in the Pacific theatre of operations as World War Two (WWII) raged on into its fifth year. With its airfield and strong garrison this vital link in Imperial Japan’s National Defence Zone posed a potential threat to the United States of America’s westward offensive across the Pacific towards the Philippines. On 15th September 1944, US armed forces conducted a seaborne invasion of Peleliu thus beginning one of the fiercest, bloodiest and longest battles of WWII; 73 days of relentless fighting followed during which nearly 16,000 men of both sides lost their lives.
As a result of the battle fought in 1944, the island of Peleliu is now host to one of the best preserved and least disturbed WWII battlefield landscapes of the Pacific Theatre of Operations; in recognition of this it has been designated a US Historic Landmark since 1984. In November 2014 the Department of Archaeology at the University of Aberdeen (UoA), UK was awarded a contract by the Peleliu War Historical Society Inc. (PWHS), a United States of America 501(c) 3 organisation, to undertake a combined scheme of archaeological field and archive based research on selected areas within the Peleliu Battlefield National Historic Landmark. The grant that funded this work was awarded to PWHS by the United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service, American Battlefield Protection Program (Grant agreement no: GA-2287-13-018).
PAS’14 recorded a total of 260 individual or clustered archaeological sites and artefacts with 274 individual coordinate points captured relating to the individual features or concentrations that form elements of these sites/assemblages.
This report represents the principal output of the PWHS contract and is intended to offer a summary of the research activities that have been undertaken as part of the project. Through the interpretation of the data gathered from these activities, this document also seeks to offer new and perhaps alternative perspectives on the Battle of Peleliu as well as a series of reflective recommendations to complement future initiatives supporting the long term sustainable preservation and interpretation of Peleliu’s unique WWII battlefield.
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On 15th September 1944, the island of Peleliu, located in the Caroline Islands, western Micronesi... more On 15th September 1944, the island of Peleliu, located in the Caroline Islands, western Micronesia was invaded by a substantial American force from the 1st Marine Division, later reinforced by Soldiers of the 81st Infantry Division. Having relatively quickly taken the beaches and airfield, though with heavy losses, the Marines next encountered the elaborately prepared cave-based defenses of the Peleliu’s ridge system. Their experiences in the seemingly endless ridges, caves and ravines of the Omleblochel, which became known to Americans as Bloody Nose Ridge, has largely defined the collective American memory of the war on Peleliu. Before the final destruction of the Japanese garrison there, the Americans were forced to fight one of the most dehumanising and costly battles of the Pacific War.
This report presents the results of a nine-day survey of the Peleliu battlefield that took place in December 2010. The survey focused on areas previously documented by Denfeld in 1981 to see what sites still survived and on those areas thought most likely to have a high density of undiscovered sites. In all the survey documented we 285 WWII sites, 200 of which were previously unrecorded by archaeologists.
The team members were continually amazed by the quantity and quality of the historic archaeological record on Peleliu which easily deserves its reputation as the best preserved WWII battlefield remaining in the Pacific Theatre.
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Papers by David McQuillen
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Journal of Conflict Archaeology, 2013
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Reports by David McQuillen
As a result of the battle fought in 1944, the island of Peleliu is now host to one of the best preserved and least disturbed WWII battlefield landscapes of the Pacific Theatre of Operations; in recognition of this it has been designated a US Historic Landmark since 1984. In November 2014 the Department of Archaeology at the University of Aberdeen (UoA), UK was awarded a contract by the Peleliu War Historical Society Inc. (PWHS), a United States of America 501(c) 3 organisation, to undertake a combined scheme of archaeological field and archive based research on selected areas within the Peleliu Battlefield National Historic Landmark. The grant that funded this work was awarded to PWHS by the United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service, American Battlefield Protection Program (Grant agreement no: GA-2287-13-018).
PAS’14 recorded a total of 260 individual or clustered archaeological sites and artefacts with 274 individual coordinate points captured relating to the individual features or concentrations that form elements of these sites/assemblages.
This report represents the principal output of the PWHS contract and is intended to offer a summary of the research activities that have been undertaken as part of the project. Through the interpretation of the data gathered from these activities, this document also seeks to offer new and perhaps alternative perspectives on the Battle of Peleliu as well as a series of reflective recommendations to complement future initiatives supporting the long term sustainable preservation and interpretation of Peleliu’s unique WWII battlefield.
This report presents the results of a nine-day survey of the Peleliu battlefield that took place in December 2010. The survey focused on areas previously documented by Denfeld in 1981 to see what sites still survived and on those areas thought most likely to have a high density of undiscovered sites. In all the survey documented we 285 WWII sites, 200 of which were previously unrecorded by archaeologists.
The team members were continually amazed by the quantity and quality of the historic archaeological record on Peleliu which easily deserves its reputation as the best preserved WWII battlefield remaining in the Pacific Theatre.
Papers by David McQuillen
As a result of the battle fought in 1944, the island of Peleliu is now host to one of the best preserved and least disturbed WWII battlefield landscapes of the Pacific Theatre of Operations; in recognition of this it has been designated a US Historic Landmark since 1984. In November 2014 the Department of Archaeology at the University of Aberdeen (UoA), UK was awarded a contract by the Peleliu War Historical Society Inc. (PWHS), a United States of America 501(c) 3 organisation, to undertake a combined scheme of archaeological field and archive based research on selected areas within the Peleliu Battlefield National Historic Landmark. The grant that funded this work was awarded to PWHS by the United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service, American Battlefield Protection Program (Grant agreement no: GA-2287-13-018).
PAS’14 recorded a total of 260 individual or clustered archaeological sites and artefacts with 274 individual coordinate points captured relating to the individual features or concentrations that form elements of these sites/assemblages.
This report represents the principal output of the PWHS contract and is intended to offer a summary of the research activities that have been undertaken as part of the project. Through the interpretation of the data gathered from these activities, this document also seeks to offer new and perhaps alternative perspectives on the Battle of Peleliu as well as a series of reflective recommendations to complement future initiatives supporting the long term sustainable preservation and interpretation of Peleliu’s unique WWII battlefield.
This report presents the results of a nine-day survey of the Peleliu battlefield that took place in December 2010. The survey focused on areas previously documented by Denfeld in 1981 to see what sites still survived and on those areas thought most likely to have a high density of undiscovered sites. In all the survey documented we 285 WWII sites, 200 of which were previously unrecorded by archaeologists.
The team members were continually amazed by the quantity and quality of the historic archaeological record on Peleliu which easily deserves its reputation as the best preserved WWII battlefield remaining in the Pacific Theatre.