Mass graves and temporary mortuaries

Date: 9 August 2011

Realistic simulation allows students to learn mass grave procedures.

A hidden copse near Wareham was a scene of body bags and police tape, as white-suited investigators retrieved bodies from the ground.

Despite this incredibly realistic set of circumstances, it was, however, a simulated exercise developed by Bournemouth University (BU) to train forensic teams in the retrieval and identification of bodies from mass graves.

Dr Martin Smith is a Lecturer in Forensic Anthropology at BU and jointly set up the exercise. He said: “The scene has taken many months to prepare, and as skeletons emerge, it is surprisingly realistic. We have a temporary mortuary as well where we carry out preliminary analysis on remains and start the process for identification.”

The Mass Graves and Temporary Mortuaries exercise site is set up to replicate a World War One battle field. It is named the Battle of Trégonne - a fictional scene of fierce fighting where, as in the real war, thousands of victims were hastily buried in mass graves.

The student’s job is to exhume, analyse and identify the remains so that the victims can be given a proper burial. They learn how to search for graves, how to clear and prepare the site and establish grave boundaries, as well as documenting the remains and transporting them to a morgue.

Participants learn about health and safety risks too, such as the common presence of white phosphorous, which can burn skin, and procedures for handling explosives.

The next phase of the exercise is to study personal artefacts and biological profiles such as age, sex, height, general health and injuries sustained during life or at the time of death.

Martin said, “There are 20 skeletons in total, and we have 40 identities. Ideally students will get it down to 4 or 5 potentials, which is a good position to be in. Some have DNA profiles too, which can be analysed.”

Dr Stephany Leach also set up the scenario and, having worked with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, she can really understand the importance of identifying the fallen.

“It must have been the most terrible thing not to know what happened to a loved one,” she said. “They disappear off to war and are listed as missing, but never to know their final resting place and what actually happened to them must have been the worst possible outcome. To give them a marked individual grave with their name is the best possible outcome.”

Martin continues: “Although this scenario is set in a very specific time and place (France 1916), the skills and processes required are very generic and are just as applicable to current world events.”

And based on recent events in Libya, Serbia, Egypt and Yemen, there are likely to be many more tragic victims and families that deserve the identification and dignified burial these forensic scientists can offer.