Uploaded June 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
It is one of the most storied battlegrounds in American history, and military veterans have spent hours on their knees using trowels to scrape back soil while searching for artifacts from the 1775 Battle of Bunker Hill, the first major battles of the American Revolutionary War
The veterans and professional archaeologists have been searching for the remains of an earthen fort built in a single night – and artifacts left behind during the first major pitched battle of the American Revolutionary War some 251 years ago.
The dig was launched early this month in the shadow of the 221-foot Bunker Hill Monument commemorating the June 17, 1775 battle that saw colonial troops repel two deadly waves of British infantry attempting to take over the hills around Boston.
The colonists eventually ran dangerously low on ammunition and were forced to retreat, allowing British troops to capture the hill – but only after they suffered 1,000 casualties.
Joe Bagley is the City of Boston archaeologist and director of archaeology who oversaw the dig around the monument located on Breed’s Hill in Boston’s Charlestown neighborhood.
"So, the Battle of Bunker Hill was the bloodiest battle of the entire American Revolution and it happened right here on top of the hill and so we're actually here where the military started and we're working with a group of veterans to do the archeology as part of the 250th celebrations and our main goal is to be able to really figure out exactly where the fortifications were for the battle at Bunker Hill,” Bagley said at the dig site.
The dig is part of commemorations marking the 251st anniversary of the battle.
The start of the American Revolution is often associated with the Battle of Lexington and Concord, skirmishes fought on April 19, 1775.
But many scholars cite Bunker Hill and June 17 as the war's first significant battle.
Historians say the clash marked the first time British and colonial forces engaged in a sustained battle over a specific piece of territory.
Bagley described the circumstances of that night in striking terms.
"So, on the night before the Battle of Bunker Hill, a thousand people from the area around Boston – everyday people, everyday men, we had bakers, we had butchers, we had candle makers – all came to this hill in the middle of the night to fortify and the next morning, they faced the most powerful army in the entire world. And though the Americans lost that battle, it galvanized the entire colonies against the British and ... and it's still something that we celebrate today,” Bagley said.
Ground-penetrating radar identified potential locations for the fort.
Soon after digging the first trench, the team led by Bagley found definitive signs of the fortification.
"So far we've been able to find evidence of the park's use going back thousands of years. But what we're really excited about is we're starting to find some of the artifacts that were actually here during the battle itself. So far, we've gotten a gun flint that was used by one of the soldiers in the battle,” Bagley said.
The dig has also uncovered musket balls and parts of a musket from the battle.
They also found objects likely left behind by British troops who occupied the area after the battle – including tea cups, tobacco pipes, sleeve buttons and a wig curler.
Have they dug up human remains at the battleground?
"No bodies yet, we do have a professional anthropologist here, a physical anthropologist on site that's looking at every bone that we find. We know that about 150 people did die up here. And so we wanna make sure that if anybody's still up here, we can identify them immediately and to make sure their remains are never disturbed,” Bagley said.
Rebels intended to hold off a possible British attack by fortifying Bunker Hill, a 110-foot-high (34-meter-high) slope in Charlestown across the Charles River from British-occupied Boston.
But for reasons still unclear, they instead took a position on a smaller and more vulnerable ridge known as Breed’s Hill, where most of the fighting took place.
The battle ended with the rebels in retreat, but not before the British had suffered massive casualties.
Bunker Hill is often portrayed as an American victory, since the British failed to win decisively and it served to galvanize the colonies against the British.
---
AP Video shot by Rodrique Ngowi.
It is one of the most storied battlegrounds in American history, and military veterans have spent hours on their knees using trowels to scrape back soil while searching for artifacts from the 1775 Battle of Bunker Hill, the first major battles of the American Revolutionary War
The veterans and professional archaeologists have been searching for the remains of an earthen fort built in a single night – and artifacts left behind during the first major pitched battle of the American Revolutionary War some 251 years ago.
The dig was launched early this month in the shadow of the 221-foot Bunker Hill Monument commemorating the June 17, 1775 battle that saw colonial troops repel two deadly waves of British infantry attempting to take over the hills around Boston.
The colonists eventually ran dangerously low on ammunition and were forced to retreat, allowing British troops to capture the hill – but only after they suffered 1,000 casualties.
Joe Bagley is the City of Boston archaeologist and director of archaeology who oversaw the dig around the monument located on Breed’s Hill in Boston’s Charlestown neighborhood.
"So, the Battle of Bunker Hill was the bloodiest battle of the entire American Revolution and it happened right here on top of the hill and so we're actually here where the military started and we're working with a group of veterans to do the archeology as part of the 250th celebrations and our main goal is to be able to really figure out exactly where the fortifications were for the battle at Bunker Hill,” Bagley said at the dig site.
The dig is part of commemorations marking the 251st anniversary of the battle.
The start of the American Revolution is often associated with the Battle of Lexington and Concord, skirmishes fought on April 19, 1775.
But many scholars cite Bunker Hill and June 17 as the war's first significant battle.
Historians say the clash marked the first time British and colonial forces engaged in a sustained battle over a specific piece of territory.
Bagley described the circumstances of that night in striking terms.
"So, on the night before the Battle of Bunker Hill, a thousand people from the area around Boston – everyday people, everyday men, we had bakers, we had butchers, we had candle makers – all came to this hill in the middle of the night to fortify and the next morning, they faced the most powerful army in the entire world. And though the Americans lost that battle, it galvanized the entire colonies against the British and ... and it's still something that we celebrate today,” Bagley said.
Ground-penetrating radar identified potential locations for the fort.
Soon after digging the first trench, the team led by Bagley found definitive signs of the fortification.
"So far we've been able to find evidence of the park's use going back thousands of years. But what we're really excited about is we're starting to find some of the artifacts that were actually here during the battle itself. So far, we've gotten a gun flint that was used by one of the soldiers in the battle,” Bagley said.
The dig has also uncovered musket balls and parts of a musket from the battle.
They also found objects likely left behind by British troops who occupied the area after the battle – including tea cups, tobacco pipes, sleeve buttons and a wig curler.
Have they dug up human remains at the battleground?
"No bodies yet, we do have a professional anthropologist here, a physical anthropologist on site that's looking at every bone that we find. We know that about 150 people did die up here. And so we wanna make sure that if anybody's still up here, we can identify them immediately and to make sure their remains are never disturbed,” Bagley said.
Rebels intended to hold off a possible British attack by fortifying Bunker Hill, a 110-foot-high (34-meter-high) slope in Charlestown across the Charles River from British-occupied Boston.
But for reasons still unclear, they instead took a position on a smaller and more vulnerable ridge known as Breed’s Hill, where most of the fighting took place.
The battle ended with the rebels in retreat, but not before the British had suffered massive casualties.
Bunker Hill is often portrayed as an American victory, since the British failed to win decisively and it served to galvanize the colonies against the British.
---
AP Video shot by Rodrique Ngowi.
