What we've got going on behind us is something
fairly unusual. This is a mass grave excavation,
or a simulated mass grave that our students
have been digging up for several days now.
I think they've been looking forward to this
for some weeks now. Partly because it brings
together a lot of things that they've been
studying throughout the year.
Another reason they seem to like it is that
it's not assessed. We're not putting them
under pressure this week, we're just seeing
how they can perform. They're allowed to just
get on with exploring the different roles
that they are given and getting into applying
a different set of processes to work together
as a team to try and answer a specific question.
This is part of a week of mass grave simulations
that we are doing on the MSc Forensic Anthropology
course. Originally we started, we were brought
into the field and we were placed in the location,
so we had to find what could be a mass graves
area. These plastic skeletons were placed
by our lecturers and the people at Trigon
Estate which is where we are, about one year
ago, and so they were just left pretty much
to just be in the most realistic conditions
possible.
So then we had to come in and find the site
and we've had to start digging. People have
been put into forensic suits, and we're having
to be as careful as possible because we haven't
been told what could be in with them, because
this is being viewed as a WW1 excavation.
There are possible, supposed phosphorus bombs,
additional bombs, coins, these sorts of things
in with the skeletons.
