Nature's War Museum: Army Weapons and Helmets Swallowed up by Russian Forest

These photos show weapons of war and military helmets that have been swallowed up and engulfed in trees in a Russian forest.

The weapons in this forest-museum include rifles, grenades, shells and a sapper's shovel.

The style of the helmets suggest they belonged to Red Army soldiers during World War II. They probably fell onto young saplings during a battle, and the trees subsequently grew through bullet holes in the helmets.

It is thought that most of these photos were taken in a forested area known as Nevsky Pyatachok, which saw heavy fighting during the Siege of Leningrad (1941-43).

WWII was the deadliest military conflict in history, and Soviet Union suffered the heaviest losses. Estimates of Russian military deaths range from eight million to 14 million.