The £8m restoration of the Bletchley Park has given archaeologist some new sites to keep them busy. The “glorified wooden sheds”, how the huts are described as, were used during the Second World War for administration, for serving refreshments and for military intelligence.
The new discovery has brought up “accurate detail” of how the site was built over 70 years ago. Archaeologists and historians are now investigating the remains.
Dr Joel Greenberg, a Bletchley Park historian, has told BBC that the two huts were probably built in 1939, just before the start of the war, the BBC News reports.
They have been detected through aerial photographs, information from books and interviews with Second World War vets. More huts had been built across the site, later on during the war.
One of the “glorified wooden sheds” served as a recreation hut. There you could find supplies of cigarettes, cakes and beer. This one is said to have been destroyed in 1950.
The other one, which was bigger, served as work space for military intelligence and was later on used for administration. It was knocked down in 1987.
According to Dr Joel Greenberg, “The main significance is the original wooden huts were dug up – three are currently being restored – but we have never had the chance to examine the footings to what were really glorified garden sheds”. He also said that the huts survived due to the fact that they were buried under a foot of Tarmac.
The car park is now under construction, its redevelopment being funded by an £8m Heritage Lottery Fund grant.
Bletchley’s involvement in the German code-breaking business had stayed secret until the 1970s.