Localisation of a Mass Grave from the Nazi Era: A Case Study

Preliminary results of sequential monitoring of simulated clandestine graves in Colombia, South America, using ground penetrating radar and botany

“…Discovered clandestine graves of victims have been reported to be isolated [3,4] , co-mingled and mass burials [5], and in a variety of burial styles, depths below ground level and depositional environments [3][4][5]. Such numbers of victims has been reported elsewhere globally, for example, in 19 th Century Irish mass burials [6], USA race riot victims [7], Spanish Civil War mass burials [8,9], World War Two burials [10,11], in post-WW2 Polish repression mass burials [12], the Northern Ireland 'Troubles' mostly isolated burials [13], the 1990s Balkan wars mass burials [14,15], and sadly in active civil wars with both isolated and mass burials [16].…”

Holocaust Archaeology: Archaeological Approaches to Landscapes of Nazi Genocide and Persecution

“…Many of these projects have been undertaken with a view to using the material generated in 'political education' and a number of considerable finds databases in particular have been created for that purpose (Theune 2010;Theune 2011;Hirte 2000). The extent of the commitment to recording Holocaust sites is reflected in a more unusual case presented by Fiedler et al (2009) who located the former position of mass graves in Stuttgart over sixty years after the bodies had been exhumed. Using a combination of aerial photographic analysis, coring and excavation, the investigators were able to pinpoint the location of the former mass grave that had previously contained sixty-six bodies, thus allowing the local community to erect a memorial at the site (Fiedler et al 2009).…”

“…The extent of the commitment to recording Holocaust sites is reflected in a more unusual case presented by Fiedler et al (2009) who located the former position of mass graves in Stuttgart over sixty years after the bodies had been exhumed. Using a combination of aerial photographic analysis, coring and excavation, the investigators were able to pinpoint the location of the former mass grave that had previously contained sixty-six bodies, thus allowing the local community to erect a memorial at the site (Fiedler et al 2009). A similar, recent pledge to examine Holocaust sites using archaeological methods can be seen in Austria, where excavations have been conducted at the former Euthanasia hospital at Hartheim (Klimesch 2002) Theune 2010:7 and Archaeo Prospections) A smaller number of projects have been undertaken in Poland, all of which have centred on the extermination camps.…”

“…Some of the more recent projects have utilised geophysical survey (Fiedler et al 2009;Gilead et al 2009;Theune 2010) but the full potential of these methods has rarely been acknowledged. Indeed, Gilead et al (2009) have suggested that sites where excavation is not permitted due to Halacha Law cannot benefit from archaeological work, thus further failing to recognise the value of non-invasive methods.…”

Discovery of a mass grave from the Spanish Civil War using Ground Penetrating Radar and forensic archaeology

“…Successful mass grave detection has been undertaken globally, for example, in 19th Century Irish mass burials [7], USA race riot victims [8], World War Two burials [9,10], in post-WW2 Polish repression mass burials [11], the Northern Ireland 'Troubles' mostly isolated burials [12], the 1990s Balkan wars mass burials [13,14], and sadly in active civil wars with both isolated and mass burials [15].…”