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I had to scoop out a ten centimeter layer of gravel, and on a meters depth I found what I belived was the corner of a crate. I knew it would take at least another hour of work freeing the box, so I took a short break for lunch and refreshed my energy. The box was about a meter long, and when I finally managed to wriggle it loose and get it to the surface I felt it was something inside it.

These small metal sleeves to place a matchbox in were popular tourist trinkets and often they were decorated with vikingships, iconic landmarks, coat of arms etc. A few times I have been extra lucky and dug up trench-art examples were the soldier had made the cover from scratch and personalized it with his own artwork.

What is very common with these metal cups, made from a low quality aluminum-zink alloy, is that they most of the times are decorated with so called trench-art. In their spare time soldiers personalized these items with names and illustrations, reminding them about home, a dear one and other positive memories.