Old WWI trenches uncovered in Canberra

Archaeologists in Canberra are uncovering a remarkable piece of World War I history, a series of old trenches used to train soldiers for the rigours of the Western Front.

There's not that much left that's reminiscent of the horrors of trench warfare as the old trenches emerge from layers of silt in Canberra's Jerrabombera wetlands, not that far from the Royal Military College, Duntroon.

ACT planning and heritage minister Mick Gentleman said these were dug in 1916 for the Australian Imperial Force Trench Warfare and Bombing School by Canberra region soldiers who had volunteered during the "Men from Snowy River" recruiting march.

The school aimed to "train the trainer", instructing officers and senior non-commissioned officers in the latest techniques of trench warfare, which soldiers in France and Belgium were discovering in the bloody battles of 1916.

Trenches weren't dug in a straight line but in an irregular pattern known as the Island Traverse Systems, blocking the ability of intruding enemy soldiers to shoot along the trench and limiting effects of shell explosions.

Mr Gentleman said this was the only trench warfare training site left in Australia as the others had been developed in the century since WWI.

"So it is nationally important we do this archaeological research to preserve the memory for the future," he said in a statement.

Mr Gentleman said the excavation work was being performed by archaeologists and students from the Australian National University in a collaboration between the ANU School of Archaeology and Anthropology, ACT Parks and Conservation Service and the Jerrabomberra Wetlands Management Committee.

The trench layout is revealed in historical aerial photos, giving an indication where to dig.

"The project aims to locate, protect, interpret and promote physical evidence of the AIF Trench Warfare and Bombing School, and to develop interpretive and informational activities and materials," he said.