The Civil War (1936–1939) and Franco's dictatorship (1939–1977) in Spain were characterized by mass violence and human rights violations. Hiding and destroying criminal evidence were systematic and intentional. Documentary sources were purged or destroyed, concentration camps were dismantled, and mass graves were eliminated or hidden. In recent decades, archaeology has contributed to revealing the Franco regime's repressive strategies. The focus on materiality, or the materiality turn, has greatly advanced the production of historical knowledge. Mass graves, concentration camps, labor camps, and prisons have been archaeologically investigated, producing new narratives surrounding contemporary Spanish history. Forensic archaeology has unearthed the traces of those who sometimes left no documents but left material evidence of their existence. This review aims to contribute to the studies of mass violence that reveal the technologies of exclusion, disappearance, and erasure of specific political and gender-neglected groups of society under Franco's repressive system.

Background/Objectives—Traditional forensic investigations often analyze digital, physical, and criminological evidence separately, leading to fragmented timelines and reduced accuracy in reconstructing complex events. To address these gaps, this study proposes the Digital Stratigraphy Framework (DSF), inspired by archaeological stratigraphy, to integrate heterogeneous evidence into structured, temporally ordered layers. DSF aims to reduce asynchronous inconsistencies, minimize false associations, and enhance interpretability across digital, behavioral, geospatial, and excavation evidence. Methods—DSF employs Hierarchical Pattern Mining (HPM) to detect recurring behavioral patterns and Forensic Sequence Alignment (FSA) to synchronize evidence layers temporally and contextually. The framework was tested on the CSI-DS2025 dataset containing 25,000 multimodal, stratified records, including digital logs, geospatial data, criminological reports, and excavation notes. Evaluation used 10-fold cross-validation, Bayesian hyperparameter tuning, and structured train-validation-test splits. Metrics included accuracy, precision, recall, F1-score, and Stratigraphic Reconstruction Consistency (SRC), alongside ablation and runtime assessments. Results—DSF achieved 92.6% accuracy, 93.1% precision, 90.5% recall, 91.3% F1-score, and an SRC of 0.89, outperforming baseline models. False associations were reduced by 18%, confirming effective cross-layer alignment and computational efficiency. Conclusions—By applying stratigraphic principles to forensic analytics, DSF enables accurate, interpretable, and legally robust evidence reconstruction. The framework establishes a scalable foundation for real-time investigative applications and multi-modal evidence integration, offering significant improvements over traditional fragmented approaches.

Bone composition is affected during the lifetime of the organism by the nutrition of the individual, whereas postmortem bone composition is affected by the surrounding burial environment. Additionally, the presence of certain elements in a buried environment can affect the structural composition of bone. The accumulation of these elements can indicate various pollutants in the working environment, both past and present. Forensic archaeologists may be exposed to contaminants that include chemical as well as biological hazards. By reconstructing the land use history of this World War II-era aircraft crash site, it is possible to preliminarily identify specific occupational hazards. The aim of the current study is to identify and characterize fragmentary (non-human) bone specimens found in forensic archaeological site in northeast India. This research also examines the presence and distribution of heavy metals within these archaeological bone samples and, therefore, within the excavated work environment. The study utilizes a multidisciplinary approach combining archaeological, anthropological, radiographic, and elemental analysis techniques. Radiographic analysis indicated altered bone mineral density in four fragmented bone samples. Whereas, elemental analysis techniques viz.; energy dispersive x-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) showed altered concentration and distribution of the heavy metals across all the specimens. Our results demonstrate the presence of heavy metals in the recovered non-human bone specimens, implying that the burial environment was affected by the hazardous pollutants and fuel, thereby posing a significant health and occupational hazard to the forensic archaeologists.

The technological revolution has impacted every facet of life, including crime and law enforcement. Following the adoption of digital evidence, artificial intelligence, and CT scans, scientists and legal professionals have now turned to three-dimensional (3D) printing to present evidence more clearly in a court of law. 3D printing is a process of creating physical objects by depositing materials layer by layer, based on digital models, to form solid, tangible replicas. It has a wide range of applications across various fields of forensic science, including explosives analysis, ballistics, forensic medicine, forensic archaeology, and crime scene reconstruction. 3D printed impression evidence such as tire marks, and shoe prints etc., offers more detailed and accurate representations compared to traditional methods. Similarly, 3D printed crime scene reconstructions provide immersive and precise visualizations, enhancing their reliability and utility in forensic investigations. This article discusses the steps involved in 3D printing, the types of 3D printing technologies, its applications in various forensic examinations, and real-world criminal cases that highlight the significance of 3D printed evidence in judicial decision-making. 3D printing has proven instrumental in these cases for establishing the linkage of weapons to crimes and correlating injuries to weapons, and identifying charred or mutilated remains. However, like any emerging technology, 3D printing in forensics faces certain challenges, which need to be addressed to maximize its potential. These include standardized protocols, ethical considerations, and high initial setup costs-all of which must be addressed to fully realize its potential.

This article focuses on one of the most evident aspects of the ongoing climate crisis: the quick reduction or loss of glacier masses in different areas of the planet. In this context we call for the pertinence and relevance of emotional engagement and expanded collaboration in research on ecological issues. Integrating disciplinary perspectives on glaciers, drawn from the environmental sciences, the environmental humanities, and forensic archeology, this article explores shared concerns with the loss and change of crucially important glacier ecosystems, and erosion of the imagination, cultural identity, and emotional connections linked to these natural phenomena. Awareness of loss, however, is argued here as critical to engendering engagement with emotions – in research, scientific dissemination efforts, and among the public at large. This, coupled with expanded collaboration (i.e. an interdisciplinary and intersectoral collaboration), may contribute to the development of more impactful scientific research and communication on ecological topics relevant to broader human-environment challenges.

ABSTRACTDiscussions of forensic archaeology frequently concentrate on methods or associated technological improvements. This paper considers the role played by archaeological thought in developing an understanding the function of time and spatial relationships and considers whether more theoretical aspects of discource within archaeology might offer useful approaches to complex crime scene investigations.

Forensic archaeology and illegal familial repatriation and burial of a fallen WW1 soldier, Nièvre, central-east France

Forensic archaeology is a specialized branch of archaeology focused on applying archaeological techniques to legal investigations, particularly in discovering and examining human remains and associated evidence at crime scenes. This field prioritizes methodical excavation, precise contextual analysis, and detailed documentation to preserve the integrity of evidence. Forensic archaeologists collaborate with other forensic professionals to offer critical insights into the circumstances surrounding a death, assist in identifying victims, and contribute to the judicial process. Ethical considerations and the necessity for legally admissible evidence are central to forensic archaeology, making it an essential aspect of criminal investigations and courtroom proceedings.

Abstract Fatal fires pose complex challenges for responders due to the requirement to investigate all aspects of the fire using methods that maximize evidence recovery and integrity, including optimal and respectful recovery of the deceased. In this article, the authors consider the value of the inclusion of both forensic archeologists and forensic anthropologists in circumstances of fatal fire, identifying some of the challenges posed by these environments and what each can contribute.This article is categorized under: Crime Scene Investigation > Crime Scene Examination Forensic Anthropology > Forensic Archaeology Forensic Anthropology > Taphonomic Changes and the Environment

Forensic archaeology and anthropology have developed significantly over past decades and now provide considerable assistance to the investigation process of disaster victim recovery and identification. In what are often chaotic death and crime scenes, the formal process of utilizing archaeological methods can bring control, order, and ensure systematic search. Procedures assist in defining scene extent, locating victims and evidence, rule out areas for consideration, and provide standardized recording and quality assurance through dedicated use of standardized forms (pro formas). Combined archaeological and anthropological search methods maximize opportunities to recovery the missing through identifying remains, mapping distributions, and providing accounting of victims at the scene. Anthropological assistance in examinations contributes to individual assessment, resolving commingling and fragmentation issues, and utilizing DNA sampling methods and matching data to reassociate and account for the missing. Utilization of archaeology, anthropology, and DNA matching data provides scope to review crime scene recovery and determine requirements and potential for further survey and retrieval. Adopting the most suitable methods for a particular context can maximize recovery, efficiency, and resource use. Case studies demonstrate the utility of archaeological methods in a range of scenarios. They exemplify the success of multidisciplinary analysis in providing evidence of the sequence of events, the timing of events, the impact of taphonomic processes, the location and accounting of victims, and the demonstration of systematic scene search. The considerations provided in this article, utilizing archaeology and anthropology processes, may assist investigators in planning and implementing responses to mass fatalities.

ABSTRACTThis paper demonstrates the utility of ground‐penetrating radar (GPR) to inform forensic archaeology recovery efforts of missing service members from historic conflict‐related aircraft crash sites. This approach is becoming more common and improving recovery strategies by pinpointing potential subsurface anomalies prior to excavation. Two examples of recovery efforts at WWII aircraft crash sites are presented, revealing the diversity of landscape upheaval signatures that result from aircraft impacts. In both situations, the GPR successfully located feature boundaries and identified aviation impacturbation. The landscape signature varied in both cases due to factors including the trajectory and velocity of the aircraft crash and the topography of the impacted landscape. Notably, a ‘halo’ effect was identified in association with one crash site, revealing the force of the impact on sandy soils. Recognition of these anthropogenic signals is important to promote effective recovery strategies, thus saving time, labour and funds, particularly in historic sites where postincident taphonomic conditions have severely altered the morphology of the landscape.

The main idea of this work is to summarize the data from two independent studies carried out in Lazdijai and Leipalingis in 2021–2023, to share the experience and the features of the research methodology in the search for the remains of the Lithuanian partisans – the clues of the violent crimes that were committed 75–80 years ago. The aim of the article is to identify the pattern of concealment evidence and crimes committed with impunity and systematically by the NKVD troops and their henchmen – the Soviet collaborators. Two tasks are formulated to achieve this goal: firstly, to reveal the theoretical principles of the methodology of the search for evidences applied during the forensic archaeology research in the period 2021–2023 in the search for the remains of the partisans of the Southern region of Lithuania, killed in the period 1945–1952 and possibly hidden in the courtyards of the NKVD headquarters in Lazdijai and Leipalingis and their surroundings, and secondly to summarize the methodology and the results achieved during the field work.

The immediate past has been of interest within Polish archaeology only very recently. Research was first undertaken in 1967 and was incidental, tending not to change the general view of archaeologists focused on periods spanning prehistory to the Middle Ages, and then gradually adding the 17th and 18th centuries. A permanent change came in the 1990s with the emergence of development-led archaeology in Poland. Excavations preceding construction of motorways and other infrastructure projects revealed relics dating back to 1800-1945 on an unprecedented scale. Initially, insufficient historical knowledge made archaeological research particularly difficult. Now, after a few decades, this pioneer era is coming to an end, and there are archaeologists focusing mainly on the contemporary period e.g. archaeology of armed conflicts in the broadest sense of the term or narrowly specialised forensic archaeology.

Abstract Forensic Archeology is the application of techniques and principles of archeology in the pursuit of examining a crime or incident with legal interest. A wide range of analytical studies are employed in examining archeological remains. X‐ray fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy remains to be one of the most used techniques for rapid examination of trace evidence typically found on an archeological crime scene. Studies of interest generally include finding trace elements from various sources, samples, and different environmental conditions and distinguishing whether a skeletal remains under examination is human, animal, or marine species. The present study has been designed to focus on the application of XRF in archeological and anthropological evidences such as the examination of human skeletal and dental remains, determination of species, examination of soil, ceramics, paintings, coins, and so on. The advantage of XRF as derived from the reported literature is that it is a non‐destructive technique making it ideal for forensic analysis and in situ examination. The study also discusses the factors affecting forensic investigations of archeological evidences and the limitations of XRF.

Forensic archaeological scenes involving human skeletal remains in wooded environments can be challenging to documentutilizing close-range photogrammetry (CRP) due to the complex nature of outdoor scenes. Previous research has demonstrated that changinglighting conditions can negatively affect three-dimensional (3D) model quality. The purpose of this research was therefore to test theimpact of variable lighting on the replicability of 3D point clouds using CRP in a wooded environment. One scattered scene was createdusing a composite human skeleton and several clothing items. The scene was photographed three times during one day to capture changinglighting conditions: at 9:45 am (Model 1), at noon (Model 2), and at 2 pm (Model 3). Photographs were collected freehand from multipleview angles using a Sony α7 III camera with a fixed wide-anglelens, and the models were processed using Agisoft Metashape Professional.All three models achieved a total scale bar error of less than 1 mm and therefore met the accepted standards for crime scene mappingbest practices. The dense point clouds were then analyzed using CloudCompare to assess point-cloud replicability between modelpairs. The Multiscale Model to Model Cloud Comparison (M3C2) tool was used to calculate signed distances between point-cloud pairs.Also, histograms that display these point-to-pointdeviations were generated for each comparison, and a Gaussian distribution was fittedto each histogram. Deviations between point clouds were minimal, indicating that CRP-generated point clouds are replicable under changinglighting conditions, as well as other environmental variables, such as mild wind conditions and complex ground surfaces. Thus, it isrecommended that forensic archaeologists incorporate CRP into their documentation protocol.

Stable isotope methods for provenance of unidentified human remains are relatively a newer field of enquiry in forensic archeology. It is of great interest for forensic experts these days. The application of strontium isotope analyses for estimating geolocation of archeological remains is of great interest in bioarcheology and modern forensics. The strontium (Sr) isotope composition of human bones and teeth has been widely used to reconstruct an individual's geo-affiliation, residential mobility, and migration history. Thousands of unknown human remains, reportedly belonging to 282 Indian soldiers of 26th Native Bengal regiment and killed in 1857, were exhumed non-scientifically from an abandoned well situated underneath a religious structure at Ajnala (Amritsar, India). Whether these remains belonged to the individuals, local or non-local to the site, was the important forensic archeological question to be answered by doing their thorough forensic anthropological examinations. In the present study, 27 mandibular teeth (18s molars, 6 first molars, and 3 premolars) collected from the Ajnala skeletal assemblage were processed for strontium isotope analysis, and the measured ratios were compared with published isotope baseline data to estimate the locality status of these remains. The Sr isotopic values were concentrated in the range of 0.7175 to 0.7270. The comparative analysis of isotopic ratios revealed that most individuals buried in the Ajnala well have 87Sr/86Sr values close to the river as well as groundwater of the Gangetic plain (less radiogenic 87Sr/86Sr ~ 0.716); most likely originated near Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh, India) region, whereas the individuals with higher 87Sr/86Sr ratios (~ 0.7200) probably resided in the West Bengal and Bihar areas where the river as well as groundwater of the Gangetic plain is relatively more radiogenic. Thus, the strontium isotope results reveal that the Ajnala individuals did not grow up or live in the Amritsar region during their childhood, and this observation complemented the previous forensic anthropological and molecular findings. There is very little Indian data on the bioavailable strontium, so the inferences from the present study estimating Sr isotope abundances are expected to provide baseline data for future forensic provenance studies that will contribute to the global efforts of mapping Sr isotope variations by the isotope community.

ABSTRACT This paper explores the catastrophic effect on the historic environment of the ethnic cleansing of the 1992–1995 Bosnian War and how it was dealt with by survivors in the aftermath of conflict. It describes the significance restoring the pre-conflict historic environment held for those who had experienced ethnic cleansing and how the act of ‘restoring’ their presence in the landscape monumentally, even they were not able to ‘restore’ their presence physically, became a form of memorialization and remembering. It investigates how the quest for historical truth, justice and reparation for the victims of the horrific events of the war involved not only ‘restoration’ but ‘excavation’ and looks at how the practices of archaeology were embedded in efforts to document, recover and restore Bosnia-Herzegovina’s devastated cultural and social fabric – and at times to impede it. The role of forensic archaeologists in locating, excavating and interpreting mass grave sites during the many war crimes investigations which took place, is explored, as well as their involvement in the ongoing quest to identify those still missing from the conflict.

Phenotypic signs of dominants isolated from the surface of bony remnants from the historic burial site were analyzed in order to expand data on the biodiversity of microorganisms in the microbial flora of bony remnants and to assess the possibility of using the results of microbiological analysis in the evidence base of forensic examination and forensic archaeology. It was detected that only Deuteromycota and Eubacteria colonized all types of surfaces in the samples of bone fragments from the historic burial site (with the age in the range of 90-95 years); with the abundance of micromycetes, the proportion of Eubacteria naturally decreased, while with the increased bacterial background counts the rate of micromycetes detection decreased. The insignificant amount of nutrients in the bony remnants led to the decrease in the number and biological diversity of microorganisms contaminating them; species adapted to a hard-to-reach organic substrate dominated there. During the process of bony remnants decomposition, when the conditions of their location changed, inter-species competition and specific recolonization occurred by species of microorganisms most adapted to a hard-to-reach organic substrate in the abiotic and biotic conditions of existence given. The results obtained are important for the descriptive ecology and biology of specific groups of microorganisms in the postmortem microbiome and form the basis for a more thorough study of complex communications between species of microorganisms in the necrobiome of bony remnants - in the future it will allow putting forward original hypotheses about the involvement of microbes in the circulation of matter and energy, as well as to apply the information obtained in the evidence base of forensic examination and forensic archaeology.

The results of expert research in the field of forensic anthropology and forensic archeology help solve many important tasks: identify bone remains, determine the antiquity of a crime and can help historians and archaeologists find answers about the way of life, habits and level of civilization of a particular era. In some cases, even a historical investigation is possible, in which special knowledge of forensic anthropology and archeology can also come in handy. The study of skeletons and corpses, mummified remains of ancient people, cooperation with criminologists and historians helps not only to recognize certain individuals in the presence of materials for comparative research, but also to verify or refute more global versions of certain facts of the life of the entire historical society. The active development of forensic archeology and anthropology abroad provides a worthy example for domestic science and practice to borrow the positive experience of European and American colleagues. We see the use of the results of forensic archeology and forensic anthropology as part of a complex forensic investigation within the framework of the investigation of many offenses, in particular, illegal search operations at an archaeological heritage site, destruction, destruction or damage to cultural heritage sites. General scientific methods of research are empirical (experiment, observation, description) and theoretical (analysis, synthesis, abstraction, generalization, induction, deduction, explanation, classification, etc.), as well as systemic, functional, specifically sociological. The purpose of the article is to develop and analyze the theoretical foundations of conducting a complex forensic-medical and forensic-archaeological/forensic-anthropological examination during the investigation of illegal search operations at an archaeological heritage site, destruction, destruction or damage of cultural heritage sites and other offenses. First of all, when investigating the illegal conduct of search works at an archaeological heritage site, it is necessary to use the achievements of many sciences, to come to a systematic perception of the research object, to look for new interdisciplinary approaches. Secondly, when studying skeletonized remains and corpses, it is necessary to combine knowledge from forensic medicine, history, archeology and anthropology. It is necessary to develop a plan for the investigation of crimes taking into account the appointment of such types of examinations, to calculate certain deadlines and the complexity of investigations of this kind. Thirdly, to develop and test the methodology of conducting comprehensive forensic-medical and forensic-archaeological/forensic-anthropological examinations taking into account the achievements of these fields of knowledge and modern domestic technical and personnel capabilities. Fourth, to study the experience of foreign colleagues, in particular, American research centers and criminal proceedings, to improve the qualifications of certain specialists directly on international practice bases.

In both traditional and forensic archaeology, the thorough documentation of context is essential to a proper excavation or recovery, as the processing of archaeological sites and forensic scenes is an inherently destructive process. Over the past few decades, close-range photogrammetry (CRP) has become increasingly utilized by archaeologists to digitally record their excavations. However, CRP has not been employed regularly during outdoor forensic archaeological scene recoveries, and therefore protocols are not well defined for this context. One important consideration when employing CRP is the impact of natural lighting conditions. Light is an important variable when recording scenes using CRP because the quality of light can affect the visual quality of the model and imagery. In particular, shadows from the photographer’s body, trees, and other structures are unavoidable when collecting images around the perimeter of scenes, a requirement of photogrammetry data collection. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to determine whether implementing light correction tools would improve the three-dimensional model imagery. Two mock forensic scenes with different lighting conditions were photographed four times each in order to test the application of light correction tools, including a large tarp and artificial lights, for mitigating harsh lighting conditions. The results demonstrate that a tarp is a viable light correction tool that can improve the visual quality of the final models by eliminating lighting inconsistencies in both open and wooded environments. Based on these results, improved guidelines for the application of CRP to outdoor forensic archaeological scenes are presented.