One of the most significant contributions of HiLands research is to the development of academic interest and experience in the field of Battlefield Archaeology, especially in relation with World War One mountainous frontlines of 1916, the traces of which can be observed in all the South-Eastern Carpathians passes.

The vestiges of this clash, especially field fortifications, show exactly what a strategic point is, giving reverse engineering clues for the exploration of major corridors during Antiquity and Prehistory.

The First  World  War  is still widely regarded as a recent event, and the vision that  it can  only  be  investigated  through  the  vast amount of documentary information preserved is still dominant. One of the consequences of this view, in Romania, is that finds belonging to the period are not protected under heritage laws, being exposed to erosion or anthropic activities.

HiLands researchers have already prepared documentations proposing the recording of some of the most relevant WW1 battlefields in RAN (National Archaeological Record).

With the passing of the last survivors, World Wars History is becoming the domain of Archaeology. The distinctive approach of newly-developed battlefield archaeology (in Western Europe after the end of the Cold War) provides different and complementary information about the conflict. Material remains interpreted  anthropologically allow researchers to discover a broad  range   of original   perspectives  about everyday  lives  of  soldiers  under  the terrible  and violent  context  of  war. This contribution has also a symbolic dimension as the World has commemorated, in 2018 (the year HiLands project started), the passing century and rediscovering a collective past.