Actualistic experimental replication of a small-sized mass grave

In May 2021 a mass grave with six body donors, a control mass grave without donors, as well as three individual graves and one (empty) individual control grave, were placed at the Forensic Anthropology Research Facility (FARF), the human taphonomy facility managed by FACTS. The graves are monitored in situ for 18 months, after which they will be excavated. Human tissue and environmental (soil, vegetation) samples were collected prior to burial. Soil samples, volatile organic compounds, and remote and geophysical data will be collected from the graves at intervals throughout the experiment. Temperature, moisture and electrical conductivity are monitored by soil sensors placed in the graves. The body donors and graves were documented in 3D using CT scanning and photogrammetry; the 3D data generated in this experiment will provide research-based educational materials that can be used to train forensic science and anthropology students and mass grave investigators. They will be used to develop a 3D virtual training tool for the documentation and excavation of mass graves, which will be made available to international humanitarian organizations involved in mass grave investigation. The project will generate recommendations regarding optimal methods of (remote) detection, rapid and accurate 3D documentation, human tissue sampling procedures and isotopic and biomolecular methods to aid identification. The initial results of the overall project as well as first recommendations for sampling and analysis will be presented.