In his article, Jan Wrzosek, briefly presents the origins and development of battlefield archaeology and its transition to conflict archaeology. The article has been published as part of Museum of the Second World War in Gdansk’s publication Material Remains of Armed Conflicts. We hope you enjoy the article.

This article briefly presents the origins and development of battlefield archaeology and its transition to conflict archaeology. The history of the development of these disciplines can be divided into two main periods. The first was in the early 19th century when historians, amateur historians, archaeologists and amateur archaeologists became interested in the physical site of a battle, not just in a battle as a historical event. It was then that people started paying attention to sources other than simply written or cartographic. Over time, the circle of researchers narrowed down to professional archaeologists, along with the general development of the field of archaeology itself. The second is the period in which the discipline became named and defined. This occurred in the mid-1980s. Now, in the early 21st century,  is a time of rapid development and redefinition, as battlefield archaeology has become part of the discipline of conflict archaeology.