A headlamp cuts through the darkness of a rough-hewn passage 100 feet underground to reveal an inscription: "James Cockburn 8th Durham L.I." It's cut so clean it could have been left yesterday. Only the date next to it – April 1st, 1917 – roots it in the horrors of World War I. The piece of graffiti is just one of nearly 2,000 century-old inscriptions by Allied soldiers, including Australians, that have recently come to light in Naours, a two-hour drive north of Paris, reports The Sydney Morning Herald.
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