Photos: Trees Swallowing Weapons of War

In these photos posted to imgur, we see articles left over from World War II (purportedly in Russia), which have become partially swallowed by trees growing up around them.

Some of the trees must have been somewhat mature when the items were left there, such as this rifle that was probably leaned up against the tree all those decades ago.

Others are more mysterious. How did they come to be embedded in these trees like this?

This machine gun has really been surrounded by tree.

The helmets are the most interesting to me, though. Trees–at least the trees that I know–may well grow up through a bullet hole in a helmet lying on the ground, but they’d be unlikely to lift that helmet up as they grow. That appears to be what has happened here… unless someone stuck each one onto a sapling, working the main tree trunk through a hole in the helmet.

We will probably never know.

Russ Chastain

Editor & Contributing Writer Russ Chastain is a lifelong hunter and shooter who has spent his life learning about hunting, shooting, guns, ammunition, gunsmithing, reloading, and bullet casting. He started toting his own gun in the woods at age nine and he's pursued deer with rifles since 1982, so his hunting knowledge has been growing for more than three and a half decades. His desire and ability to share this knowledge with others has also grown, and Russ has been professionally writing and editing original hunting & shooting content since 1998. Russ Chastain has a passion for sharing accurate, honest, interesting hunting & shooting knowledge and stories with people of all skill levels.