WWII Artifact Wrapped in Potato Sacks Mysteriously Found in Remote Peat Bog

A Second World War artifact has been found wrapped in potato sacks under mysterious circumstances in a remote area of peatland.

The object in question—an aircraft's propeller blade—was spotted at Coire a'Bhradain on the Isle of Arran, located off the west coast of Scotland.

The discovery of the propeller blade has sparked an investigation by experts from the National Trust for Scotland—a conservation organization that protects the country's natural and cultural heritage.

Experts are now trying to determine the origins of the plane part—the subject of debate given that it was found outside the boundaries of two previously known crash sites in the area.

"We are intrigued by the discovery of the propeller blade, which certainly looks to be from a WWII plane," Derek Alexander, head of archaeology with the National Trust for Scotland, said in a news release. "There are two previously known plane crash sites further up the glen on the steep cliff side of Beinn Nuis, but this object was found outside the mapped spread of debris from both of these, which has caused some uncertainty about which aircraft they belong to."

The plane part came to light thanks to a contractor who was conducting peatland restoration work for the National Trust for Scotland in Coire a'Bhradain.

Peatlands are a distinctive type of wetland ecosystem in which waterlogged conditions prevent plant material from fully decomposing. They are characterized by the accumulation of partially decayed organic matter—which form layers of peat. These ecosystems are a vital resource in the fight against climate change thanks to their carbon-storing properties.

"The plane part was discovered when our contractor's excavator bucket hit something solid and metallic," Alexander said. "On closer inspection, we found it had been wrapped and tied in a potato sack, which added further intrigue to the find that lay some distance from the spread of the wreckage of the former crash sites."

"These are nationally important military remains, so they certainly have historical significance and a story to tell," Alexander told Newsweek. "As a conservation charity, we share Scotland's heritage and landscapes and their stories, so it was fitting to make this find when we were restoring peatland on Arran.

"It's common to discover natural heritage stories when carrying out peatland restoration, but on this project it's exciting that we have also been able to conserve and share elements of Scotland's cultural history."

Because the crash sites on the island have been well-documented, it is possible to narrow down the type of plane involved to two American heavy bombers: a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress or a B-24 Liberator designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego.

However, both of these planes used the same sort of propeller blades, which has added to the confusion.

Thanks to a previous archaeological survey carried out in 2013, it is known that the closest of the two crash sites to where the propeller blade was found is that of the B-24. This aircraft crashed on August 24, 1943, with all eleven people on board perishing.

"The bodies were recovered from the crash site shortly after, but the locations are still protected today under the 1986 Protection of Military Remains Act," Alexander said. "We are not permitted to remove wreckage from such sites without first obtaining permission—so the accidental discovery of a propeller blade, without the known spread of fuselage debris, that had obviously been previously moved is quite an unusual situation."

Terence Christian, the lead archaeologist on the 2013 survey, said in the release that further analysis should enable researchers to associate the propeller with one of the two nearby wreck sites.

"The discovery was made wrapped in a potato sack during peat restoration works, suggesting removal following the crash event, but this hypothesis will need further study," Christian said. "The associated potato sack should provide a time frame for the propeller's removal from the main debris field, adding new information to the wrecks' post-crash stories."

After the National Trust for Scotland announced the find, the organization received new information from an expert on Scotland's wartime aviation crashes that suggests the propellor had come from the B-17 that crashed on Arran.

"Some of the material from that was excavated by a group in 1980s, with a Ministry of Defence licence, but when returning to retrieve the materials, they found that some had been stolen or removed from the site," Alexander said. "It's possible that this may be one of the missing propellers from that excavation, so we're now excited to follow up on this new information."

Update 03/22/24, 12:27 p.m. ET: This article has been updated to include additional comments from Derek Alexander.

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