Forensic Approaches to Buried Remains

AUTHORSJohn Hunter MFL (Manlove Forensics Limited), Wantage, Oxfordshire, UK and University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UKBarrie Simpson MFL (Manlove Forensics Limited), Wantage, Oxfordshire, UKCaroline Sturdy Colls MFL (Manlove Forensics Limited), Wantage, Oxfordshire, UK and Staffordshire University, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, UK

• List of figures vii Series foreword xiPreface and acknowledgements xiiiThe authors xvAbout the companion website xvii1 An introduction to buried remains 11.1 Questions of time 11.2 Questions of interpretation 21.3 Forensic archaeology 51.4 Legal issues and procedures 81.5 Decay dynamic 101.6 Search methods and adaptations 121.7 Recovery methods and adaptation 141.8 Mass graves 192 Search theory and the landscape 232.1 The theory 232.2 Landscape mapping 302.3 Remote sensing 373 Search application 493.1 Geophysical survey 493.2 Cadaver dogs 603.3 Mechanical excavation 683.4 Bodies in aqueous environments 734 Search design 774.1 Search design 774.1.1 Definition of search boundaries 774.1.2 Recording and archiving 784.1.3 Thoroughness 794.2 Interrogating landscapes 794.3 Balancing probabilities 935 Longer-term ‘no body’ cases 1015.1 Introduction 1015.2 History of cold case investigation 1025.3 Cultural changes to rural landscapes 1045.4 Natural changes to rural landscapes 1085.5 Planning controls and building controls 1165.6 Current planning arrangements 1185.7 Planning records 1205.8 Building records 1215.9 Special circumstances 1245.9.1 Archaeological investigation 1245.9.2 Listed buildings 1245.9.3 Ecclesiastical buildings 1255.9.4 Burial grounds 1265.10 Landfill sites and waste disposal 1316 Recovery, stratigraphy and destruction 1376.1 Stratigraphy 1386.1.1 Layers and contamination 1386.1.2 Fire scenes 1536.1.3 Formal exhumations 1586.2 The destructive process 1606.2.1 Documentation 1606.2.2 Planning and photography 169Appendix: The forensic archaeologist’s report (taken from Section 7 of the Standards and Guidance for Forensic Archaeologists) 1787 Recovery, sampling and dating 1817.1 Sieving 1817.2 Sampling and forensic ecology 1867.2.1 Entomology 1877.2.2 Palynology 1907.3 Essential taphonomics 1937.3.1 Natural modifications 1947.3.2 Anthropogenic modification 1967.4 Physical anthropology, recovery and surface scatters 1997.5 Dating 2047.5.1 Relative dating 2067.5.2 Absolute dating 2088 The investigation of multiple burials 2138.1 Diversity and challenges 2138.2 Developments 2188.3 Interrogating the evidence 2218.4 The aftermath of conflict 2258.5 Politics and Religion 2278.6 Archives for history 228Bibliography 233Index 251