Work on widening the road along the coast of the Ariburnu sector, including above ANZAC Cove, began in late February 2005. However, this was halted soon afterwards, after stories appeared in the Turkish and Australian media reporting the work and claiming the excavations were excessive and threatened historic sites.

On February 27, Air Vice Marshal (Rtd) Garry Beck, the head of the Australian Office of War Graves, visits the ANZAC Cove area. He later refused to comment on the excavation work, only saying that he was preparing a report for the Australian Minister of Veteran Affairs, Ms Deanne Kelly. This report has not been made public.

On February 28, an umbrella group of Turkish Non-governmental organisations issued a statement calling for the work to be halted and a full assessment of the project to be carried out. It also called for wider consultation between all involved parties, both at the government and civil levels.

On March 1, during a visit to the excavation site above and around ANZAC Cove, Australian writer Bill Sellars and his wife Serpil Karacan Sellars, a Turkish journalist and television producer, found fragments of human remains uncovered by excavation work at the northern end of ANZAC Cove. Large amounts of earth were also seen to have been dumped directly into the cove, covering the beach.