Forensic Approaches to Buried Remains

287 Pages·2013·73.54 MB·English

by  John Hunter

eSSentialS oF ForenSiC SCienCe
John hunter
Barrie SimpSon
Caroline Sturdy CollS
Forensic
ApproAches
to Buried
remAins

Forensic Approaches to Buried Remains

Forensic Approaches to
Buried Remains
John Hunter
MFL (Manlove Forensics Limited),
Wantage, Oxfordshire, UK
University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
Barrie Simpson
MFL (Manlove Forensics Limited),
Wantage, Oxfordshire, UK
Caroline Sturdy Colls
MFL (Manlove Forensics Limited), Wantage, Oxfordshire, UK
Staffordshire University, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, UK
Thiseditionfirstpublished2013(cid:2)C 2013byJohnWiley&Sons,Ltd
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LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Hunter,John.
Forensicapproachestoburiedremains/JohnHunter,BarrieSimpsonandCarolineSturdyColls.
pagescm
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN978-0-470-66630-2(cloth)–ISBN978-0-470-66629-6(pbk.) 1.Forensicsciences.
2.Forensicanthropology. 3.Criminalinvestigation. I.Title.
HV8073.H89362014
363.25–dc23
2013015040
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Setin10/12ptTimesbyAptaraInc.,NewDelhi,India
1 2013
Contents
Listoffigures vii
Seriesforeword xi
Prefaceandacknowledgements xiii
Theauthors xv
Aboutthecompanionwebsite xvii
1 Anintroductiontoburiedremains 1
1.1 Questionsoftime 1
1.2 Questionsofinterpretation 2
1.3 Forensicarchaeology 5
1.4 Legalissuesandprocedures 8
1.5 Decaydynamic 10
1.6 Searchmethodsandadaptations 12
1.7 Recoverymethodsandadaptation 14
1.8 Massgraves 19
2 Searchtheoryandthelandscape 23
2.1 Thetheory 23
2.2 Landscapemapping 30
2.3 Remotesensing 37
3 Searchapplication 49
3.1 Geophysicalsurvey 49
3.2 Cadaverdogs 60
3.3 Mechanicalexcavation 68
3.4 Bodiesinaqueousenvironments 73
4 Searchdesign 77
4.1 Searchdesign 77
4.1.1 Definitionofsearchboundaries 77
4.1.2 Recordingandarchiving 78
4.1.3 Thoroughness 79
4.2 Interrogatinglandscapes 79
4.3 Balancingprobabilities 93
5 Longer-term‘nobody’cases 101
5.1 Introduction 101
5.2 Historyofcoldcaseinvestigation 102
vi CONTENTS
5.3 Culturalchangestorurallandscapes 104
5.4 Naturalchangestorurallandscapes 108
5.5 Planningcontrolsandbuildingcontrols 116
5.6 Currentplanningarrangements 118
5.7 Planningrecords 120
5.8 Buildingrecords 121
5.9 Specialcircumstances 124
5.9.1 Archaeologicalinvestigation 124
5.9.2 Listedbuildings 124
5.9.3 Ecclesiasticalbuildings 125
5.9.4 Burialgrounds 126
5.10 Landfillsitesandwastedisposal 131
6 Recovery,stratigraphyanddestruction 137
6.1 Stratigraphy 138
6.1.1 Layersandcontamination 138
6.1.2 Firescenes 153
6.1.3 Formalexhumations 158
6.2 Thedestructiveprocess 160
6.2.1 Documentation 160
6.2.2 Planningandphotography 169
Appendix:Theforensicarchaeologist’sreport(takenfromSection7ofthe
StandardsandGuidanceforForensicArchaeologists) 178
7 Recovery,samplinganddating 181
7.1 Sieving 181
7.2 Samplingandforensicecology 186
7.2.1 Entomology 187
7.2.2 Palynology 190
7.3 Essentialtaphonomics 193
7.3.1 Naturalmodifications 194
7.3.2 Anthropogenicmodification 196
7.4 Physicalanthropology,recoveryandsurfacescatters 199
7.5 Dating 204
7.5.1 Relativedating 206
7.5.2 Absolutedating 208
8 Theinvestigationofmultipleburials 213
8.1 Diversityandchallenges 213
8.2 Developments 218
8.3 Interrogatingtheevidence 221
8.4 Theaftermathofconflict 225
8.5 PoliticsandReligion 227
8.6 Archivesforhistory 228
Bibliography 233
Index 251
List of figures
1.1 Exampleofanarchaeologicalmatrixoflayersduringexcavation. 2
1.2 Agraverequiringbotharchaeologicalandanthropologicalattention. 7
1.3 Exampleofadipocereformation. 11
1.4 Theuseofheavymachineryinsearchingforburials. 13
1.5 Typicalscaleplanofhalf-sectionedgrave. 16
1.6 Asiteplanusinglocalfixedpoints. 17
1.7 Massgraveexcavation(top)anddetailofcommingling(bottom). 20
2.1 Excavationoftheconcretefloorofabarnmarkedoutonacommongrid
resultingfromGPRresponses. 27
2.2 Theso-called‘MoorsMurders’. 29
2.3 Overlyingmapsshowingcurrentand‘historic’landscapefeaturesfor
breakingdownintodomains. 31
2.4 Largescalemapsof(top)aruralareaand(bottom)anurbanareausedin
therecoveryofmissingpersons. 33
2.5 Examplesofdifferentscaledmapsillustratingdifferencesindetail. 35
2.6 Examplesofcomputer-generateddigitalterrainmodels(DTMs)ofthe
TrentValley. 36
2.7 Superimpositionofaerialphotographs. 39
2.8 Planshowingdiscrepancybetweensitesidentifiedunderdifferent
conditions. 41
2.9 ExampleofaLiDARimagewhichcapturessubtletopographicchangeon
thegroundsurface. 42
2.10 FourLiDARimagesofthesamelandscapeshowingtheeffectsofdifferent
computer-generatedlightingangles. 43
2.11 LiDARimagesshowinganunfiltered(top)andfiltered(bottom)landscape. 44
2.12 SurveyingusingGPS. 47
3.1 Twogeophysicalsurveysystemsoperatingwithinagridsystem. 52
3.2 Typicalradargrams(verticalslices)acrossknowngravesitesshowingthe
effectsofdifferentantennafrequencies. 55
3.3 Resistivityplotsshowingareasofhigher(lighter)andlower(darker)
resistance. 58
3.4 Three-dimensionalviewofmassgravegeneratedusingelectricalresistance
tomography. 60
3.5 Recommendedphasesofsearchforcadaverdogs. 63
3.6 Examplesillustratingthepotentialtravelofscentaccordingtolandscape
andwatercoursing. 65
viii LISTOFFIGURES
3.7 Three-dimensionalmodelofmoorlandlandscapefromagroundpenetrating
radarsurveyshowingwettestareasandundergroundwatercoursing. 68
3.8 Carefulmachinestrippingofsurfacelayersinordertoidentifydisturbances
cutintoundisturbedsubstrates. 70
3.9 Removalofsurfacedepositsclearlyillustrates(top)thebadlyconcealed
burialofcontaminatedwasteand(bottom)theremainsofanearlier
excavation. 71
4.1 VentinganddrillingthroughconcreteinordertoventaGPRresponsefor
cadaverdogattention. 81
4.2 Carefultrowellinginordertoidentifyapossibledisturbancecausedbya
burialduringtheconstructionofapipeline. 83
4.3 Theuseofamachine(Stage4)inthesearchforthegardensub-soilofa
demolishedbuilding. 86
4.4 Carefulexcavationattheedgeofwoodlandindifficultwetconditions
resultingintherecoveryofaplasticbagcontainingneonatalremains. 87
4.5 Hypotheticalexampleofuseof‘RAG’analysisoflandscape. 88
4.6 Excavationofquarryshowingstratigraphicremovaloffillusingheavy
machinery. 91
4.7 Investigationofadefinedareaoflandshowing(top)systematicventingfor
dogs(Stage3)and(bottom)carefulexcavationandsamplingofareaof
burning(Stage4). 92
4.8 Illustrationshowinggravemarkedbybricks(topleft),identificationof
gravecut(topright)andfullyexcavatedgrave(bottom). 99
5.1 PoliceandapathologistrecoveringtheremainsofburiedvictimsinJersey. 105
5.2 Comparisonofphotographtakeninthe1960s(top)andin2012(bottom). 109
5.3 Changesintheerosionpatternsofmoorlandpeatexposure. 110
5.4 Humanremainsdiscoveredasaresultofcoastalerosion. 111
5.5 Humanremainsdiscoveredasaresultofcoastalerosionofsanddune. 112
5.6 Awoodlandsearchshowing(top)areaofinterestand(bottom)locationof
buriedcontainer. 114
5.7 Aerialphotographoffieldcontainingmanureheap. 115
5.8 Flowchartforsearchinglocallybasedplanningandbuilding
documentation. 123
5.9 Flowchartforsearchingpotentiallandfilldisposalsites. 134
6.1 Half-sectionofgravestratigraphy. 140
6.2 ACSIbeingtrainedtorecognisethegraveedges. 141
6.3 Half-sectionofgrave. 143
6.4 Graveinwoodland. 145
6.5 Theuseofsmallimplementstorecovertraceevidence. 147
6.6 Excavationusingapart-pedestalmethod,inthiscasenecessitatedbythe
presenceofahighwatertable. 149
6.7 Spademarksidentifiedonarootfromthediggingofthegrave. 151
6.8 Excavationofgraveincellar. 152
6.9 ArchaeologistsexcavatinginthefiredebrisatWindsorCastle. 155
6.10 Thestratigraphiccollapseofacountryhousecontainingthreevictims. 156
6.11 Theseatofsuccessivebonfires. 157