[John H K]

Well, the "15-year" date is chosen carefully to imply that these were buried prior to the first Gulf War,

Well, on every thread on this on various FR posters twisted the "at least 10 years old" into "10 years old exactly" because that would make them POST GW I.

So everyone is spinning to suit their own ends.

And as to why they were buried, how about burying them to simply dispose of them?

[Billthedrill]

Mostly because it's a pretty inefficient way of disposing of ostensibly empty chemical shells. No, that one isn't, I think, particularly credible - burial in such a way that they can be recovered after a time (as they have been, 10 years hence at least) isn't just a case of throwing them in a hole and covering it.

But I'll wait happily for more information (and not count on the mainstream media to provide it). There is usually some form of lot identifier on ammo this large (and 120 mm is pretty big) if not an outright date of manufacture. And we have lots of old records by now.

[EggsAckley]

So everyone is spinning to suit their own ends.

Yourself included.