Woman foraging for seaweed on UK beach finds WWII mines

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Woman foraging for seaweed on UK beach finds WWII mines
Woman foraging for seaweed on UK beach finds WWII mines


A woman who went foraging for seaweed on a beach in Pembrokeshire found more than she bargained for when she discovered three World War II mines.

Julia Horton-Powdrill was walking along Caerfai beach, near St Davids, with the intention of collecting seaweed when she noticed a mine during low tide.

She then spotted two more in the watery sand, and believes they were unearthed by the rough sea.

Woman foraging for seaweed on UK beach finds WWII mines
Woman foraging for seaweed on UK beach finds WWII mines


Mrs Horton-Powdrill, a trained archaeologist who now runs foraging workshops, happened upon the mines after heading to the beach on Wednesday and finding the sea too rough to forage.

She told the BBC: "When I turned around and headed back up the beach I saw this very large iron object half submerged in the water.

"At first I thought it was some sort of Roman pottery as it was quite rusty. Then my second thought was it must be a mine.

"I took some photographs and then realised there was another similar-sized one even more submerged further along."

Julia then found a third one lying on its side with a hole in it.

Woman foraging for seaweed on UK beach finds WWII mines
Woman foraging for seaweed on UK beach finds WWII mines


She added: "I regularly walk on the beach and have never seen them before. So it's been a very exciting discovery."

Julia sent her photographs to the Dyfed Archaeological Trust, who believe they are World War II mines.

It was originally reported that the mines were from WWI, but James Meek, head of field services at the trust, told Aol Travel: "We are fairly confident that they are of World War II date now.

"They have been known about since they were dragged onto the beach and made safe a number of decades ago, but are only visible at certain times when the sands have been removed from this part of the beach."

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