On June 18, 1815, Napoleon was defeated at the Battle of Waterloo, but not before up to 20,000 men and thousands of horses had been killed.
And yet, archaeologists have only ever found two skeletons at the historic site.
Now, researchers say they have an answer – the bodies were dug up and sold to meet demand in the fertiliser and sugar beet markets.
Pretty grisly.
Plenty of visitors to the battlefield in the aftermath of the bloody fighting have documented evidence of mass graves, the bodies of both men and horses buried within. While their writing and works of art may have exaggerated the numbers, which are impossible to confirm, there is no doubt that thousands of bodies were buried.
In addition, bones take many thousands of years to decompose entirely, not the 200 or so years that have passed since Napoleon lost his final battle – meaning they must have been moved.
Previous evidence suggested animal bones had been removed from the site soon after the battle, and in 1822 claims were published that the skeletons had been exhumed for use in bone meal to spread on crops.
But the new study, published in the Journal of Belgian History, shows the remains of both humans and horses were left largely undisturbed until the mid-1830s, when demand for bones for use in fertiliser and the production of beet sugar soared.
While the use of human bones was not legal – nor was the exhumation of remains – the quantity required to sustain the industry was growing, leading to fraud.
‘In Belgium, the rise of the sugar beet industry in the 1830s was the key moment in the transformation of the Waterloo battlefield,’ the authors wrote. Bones were used in fertiliser which allowed farmers to use more land for growing, and also increased the sugar content in the beets.
‘The bone trade became a lucrative business, a fact that was debated several times in parliament. This essential resource was so valuable that illegal exportations and exploitations became common.’
Figures in the paper showed that in 1832-1833, Belgium exported no bone to France. By 1836, it was exporting three million kilos.
Speaking at the time, liberal parliamentarian Léopold Zoude said: ‘The export is much higher than the declared quantities, and however exact and rigorous the surveillance at the border offices may be, it is impossible to prevent the fraud that is committed.
‘Stinking bones are exported in full loads, without packaging and in a way that makes verification almost impossible.’
Meanwhile, a report in La Presse noted: ‘One experiences the feeling of disgust and shame with which the peasants of Waterloo blush, when they see speculators who sell noble bones scattered on the battlefield, and which they intend to transform into bone char.’
The authorities were aware of the pillaging, with the Mayor of Braine-l’Alleud issuing a warning that excavating the battlefield was punishable by up to a year in prison.
Nevertheless, it seems his warning went unheeded, as today the battlefield is almost empty, the remains of thousands of men who died on both sides dug up and sold.
And it may not just be Waterloo.
The authors note that the demand for bones continued up until World War One, and that other battlefields should be investigated for evidence of the same practice.
‘This article is only the beginning of a more substantial research on the fate of the battlefield casualties after the Napoleonic Wars,’ they wrote. ‘As we have hinted, there is a global history of exploitation on an industrial scale hiding in plain sight. Waterloo was only the tip of the iceberg.
‘The time has come in which historians and archaeologists should follow this line of investigation on other battlefields in Belgium and Europe.’
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