Entire Town Evacuated After 1,652 WWI Shells Found

Gardener discovers 30 tons of leftover ammo
By Matt Cantor,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 24, 2010 9:24 AM CST
Entire Town Evacuated After 1,652 WWI Shells Found
The ruins of the French village of Vaux in 1918; the munitions were discovered in Coucy-les-Eppes.   (Getty Images)

Authorities have evacuated a French village after a local gardener stumbled upon a 50-foot-long underground World War I munitions dump, Der Spiegel reports. All 450 villagers must leave Coucy-les-Eppes, near Reims, during the day for a week while some 26 experts remove 30 tons of shells from the German depot. They can come home at night, during which time the 1,652 shells aren’t in the process of being moved.
(More evacuation stories.)

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