The small island of Gryuinard off the coast of Scotland has one of the darkest pages in the history of the twentieth century. Once the pirates and a temporary home for several families, it turned into a symbol of biological weapons, infection and oblivion. And now - slowly returning to life.
The history of Gryuinard dates back to the 17th century, when the island was wooded and served as a pirates. Until the 1920s several people lived on the island and later it became deserted. However, it was his isolation that made him an ideal place for one of the worst experiments World II . In 1942 , the British military, within secret of the secret " Operation Vegetarian" began testing of anthrax as weapons. On the island spores of the disease on sheep were tested using explosive devices. The results were so catastrophic that already in 1945 Gryuynard officially recognized as unfit for life - disputes could survive in the soil for decades. The dark mystery remained hidden until the 1980s , when activists initiated the cleansing campaign . As a result of large -scale decontamination the soil was burned, the land was treated with formaldehyde, and subsequently brought new sheep. After successful testing , the government finally recognized the island in 1990 .
But even cleaning could not finally erase the past. In 2022 , the island swept a fire, which eyewitnesses were described as " hellish". Today, sheep live on Gryuinard again and in the future it is planned to install a beacon or weather station.
