German archaeologists are using highly trained dogs with trained noses to search out treasures at ancient excavation sites, including bones that are up to 3,000 years old.

The dogs under the guidance of their owners are let free to sniff through the site, looking for the scent of bone remains signifying potential burial sites (Picture: Christine Uyanik, Ayhan Uyanik, Anna Dittrich)

In Neufahrn bei Freising, Bavaria—about 25 kilometers north of Munich—archaeologist Birgit Anzenberg requested the assistance of the top canine team last week.

The area was occupied during the Iron Age and early Celtic period, the researcher added. In addition to a settlement from those times, the area also contains a section of an old Roman road.

The dogs were allowed to roam around the site unrestrained, guided by their owners, in search of the scent of bone fragments that would indicate possible burial locations.

‘We meet at an excavation site and then the first dog searches over this limited area as it wants to search. It can go left, right, how it thinks it has to search, where it gets its scent from. And this search gives us certain insights,’ undelined Dietmar Kroepel, founder of Archaeo Dogs.

After that, a different dog is instructed to begin looking, and the owner is not informed of the preceding dog's results.

Two years of training is needed for a dog to become an Archaeo Dog (Picture: Christine Uyanik, Ayhan Uyanik, Anna Dittrich)

According to Mr. Kroepel, a dog must undergo two years of training before becoming an Archaeo Dog.

He continued by saying that the dogs had a success rate of over 90% and could detect bones as deep as 14 meters (45 feet).

The canines are used by more people than simply archaeologists; some of the dogs are also trained to assist law enforcement with "cold cases."

Kroepel and his group frequently travel throughout Germany on the weekends. He enjoys the rush of making a historical and scholarly contribution. For the dogs, a weekend spent sniffing and running is a good weekend.