Journal
REMOTE SENSING
Volume 13, Issue 15, Pages -Publisher
MDPI
DOI: 10.3390/rs13152880
Keywords
geophysics; ground penetrating radar; electrical resistivity tomography; fixed probe resistivity; forensic science; archaeology; GPR; ERT; unmarked grave; clandestine grave; geophysical survey
Categories
Funding
- University of Newcastle
- Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Doctoral Fellowship [751-2021-0039]
- Flinders University
- Australian Research Council [LE210100037]
- Australian Research Council [LE210100037] Funding Source: Australian Research Council
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The location of unmarked graves is legally and culturally significant, providing closure to families in forensic cases and valuable information in archaeological investigations. Traditional methods like excavation are difficult and expensive, leading to the widespread use of geophysical techniques such as ground penetrating radar and electrical resistivity tomography for efficient and non-invasive grave detection.
The location of unmarked graves in forensic and archaeological investigations is legally and culturally important. In a forensic context, locating covert burials of missing persons can provide closure to the family, as well as facilitating the successful prosecution of the individual(s) responsible. Archaeologically, burials provide an important source of information about health, diet, physical anthropology, and culture. Despite the importance of these features, the location of unmarked graves with conventional archaeological and forensic techniques, such as excavation, is difficult and expensive. As a result, geophysical techniques have been widely applied to the location of unmarked graves as they are non-invasive, cost and time effective, and avoid the unnecessary disturbance of human remains. This article brings together the literature on ground penetrating radar (GPR), and two resistivity methods, electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) and fixed probe resistivity (FPR), on their ability to locate burials and reviews their use in forensic and archaeological investigations. This paper aims to provide law enforcement personnel, archaeologists, geophysicists, and interested academics with an overview of how these techniques work, how they have been previously applied to grave detection, and the strengths and weakness of these methods.
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