About Me

I'm a PhD student researching the role of the archaeological dead in contemporary British society. Think of this as a scrapbook of all the interesting links, snippets of information and random bits and bobs I come across pertaining to death, dying and the dead. Enjoy?!

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    Police ‘protect identity of the dead’ by covering headstones with bubblewrap as they exhume pauper’s graveDetectives bizarrely wrapped more than 20 graves and headstones in bubble-wrap and tape at a cemetery to ‘protect the identities’ of the dead. Police officers painstakingly covered each tombstone in plastic sheeting to spare any of those buried - most decades ago - from being identified. The operation was carried out on Friday before detectives started exhuming the body of a man from a pauper’s grave… I really loathe posting stories from the Daily Fail, but y’know, needs must and all! 

    Police ‘protect identity of the dead’ by covering headstones with bubblewrap as they exhume pauper’s grave

    Detectives bizarrely wrapped more than 20 graves and headstones in bubble-wrap and tape at a cemetery to ‘protect the identities’ of the dead.

    Police officers painstakingly covered each tombstone in plastic sheeting to spare any of those buried - most decades ago - from being identified.

    The operation was carried out on Friday before detectives started exhuming the body of a man from a pauper’s grave…

    I really loathe posting stories from the Daily Fail, but y’know, needs must and all! 

    The unclaimed dead: medical examiners post photos of unidentified corpses on the internet in the hopes that loved ones will find them

    The corpses’ faces are mostly bloated, their skin pale and discolored. One man’s lips are stiffened into a grim frown and he stares with half-open eyes. Another man appears to be sleeping, his color natural enough that he almost looks alive.

    Forensic investigator Michael Simley knows some people will find the photographs unsettling, but he said he decided to post them online for an important reason: the bodies are unidentified. 

    All were found in Wisconsin’s most populous area, Milwaukee County, and have been without names for years — decades, in some cases — and Simley said he’s desperate to find answers.

    ‘We’re not doing these people justice to let them go unidentified. These are family members, friends, people who are missed,’ Mr Simley said. 

    ‘Everyone deserves to be recognized as who they were in life. Being buried as a Jane or John Doe doesn’t sit well with me.’

    Investigators nationwide use a variety of tools when asking for the public’s help identifying corpses. Many release sketches or 3-D clay models, along with photos of tattoos, clothing or jewelry of the deceased. But a handful are now taking the more extreme step of releasing photographs of faces. 

    Body Modification Research

    You are being asked to participate in a research project carried out by the Centre for Anatomy and Human Identification (CAHID) at the University of Dundee, Scotland, UK. For this project, we will be collecting images of body modifications to establish a database which may aid in the identification of victims and missing persons, for example in a disaster.

    By collecting a large number of images of tattoos, piercings and other body modifications, not only can we develop a more uniform way of describing those modifications but also establish how individualistic certain body modifications are within a population, social group or age group. For example, when someone is found with a tattoo of a dragon on the lower left leg, the database may be consulted to see how many people have a dragon tattoo on the lower left leg, and more specifically, how many of those have the same dragon tattoo in this location to establish how individualistic this body modification is. This information may help to indicate the identity of a person with more certainty when other (more conclusive) identification data, such as DNA and dental information, are unavailable.

    The images may also be used to develop computerised image enhancement and automated image comparison techniques for body modifications to help in the victim identification process. The latter is useful when a photo of a missing person with a tattoo is available to compare with a number of photos of victims with similar tattoos.The database of images will be used to research and develop aids for the identification of victims in disasters and missing person investigations.

    An amazing project - click the link for further details!

    Reading Bones to Identify Genocide Victims

    forensicanth:

    Rachel Nuwer, has written about the practical use of skeletal material in identifying genocide victims. The piece was published on The New York Times’ At War blog.

    The article describes some of the work of Dr Eric Stover, director of the Human Rights Centre at the University of California, Berkeley. Dr Stover has worked in Guatemala, Iraq, Rwanda and other locations in the wake of suspected genocide.

    The author can be followed on Twitter @RacheNuwer or RachelNuwer.com.

    (Source: )

    9/11: Identifying victims 10 years on A moving article from the Telegraph about the scientists that have worked ceaselessly since 9/11 to identify missing victims through DNA profiling.  The photograph shows a man working in  the New York Office of the Chief Medical Examiner “Bone Lab” where fragments of human bone found at the World Trade Center site are examined. Photo: Adam Nadel. Click the photo to access the full article.

    9/11: Identifying victims 10 years on

    A moving article from the Telegraph about the scientists that have worked ceaselessly since 9/11 to identify missing victims through DNA profiling. 

    The photograph shows a man working in  the New York Office of the Chief Medical Examiner “Bone Lab” where fragments of human bone found at the World Trade Center site are examined.

    Photo: Adam Nadel.

    Click the photo to access the full article.