Staff publications (CDS)

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Open Access
Unique osteological evidence for human-animal gladiatorial combat in Roman Britain
(Public Library of Science (PLoS), 2025-04-23) Thompson, Tim J. U.; Errickson, David; McDonnell, Christine; Holst, Malin; Caffell, Anwen; Pearce, John; Gowland, Rebecca L.
The spectacle of Roman gladiatorial combat captures the public imagination and elicits significant scholarly interest. Skeletal evidence associated with gladiatorial combat is rare, with most evidence deriving from written or visual sources. A single skeleton from a Roman cemetery outside of York where gladiators arguably were buried presented with unusual lesions. Investigation, including comparative work from modern zoological institutions, has demonstrated that these marks originate from large cat scavenging. Thus, we present the first physical evidence for human-animal gladiatorial combat from the Roman period seen anywhere in Europe.
Open Access
Examining the burial contexts and trauma patterns of fallen soldiers and civilian victims from the Spanish Civil War: a comparative investigation
(Taylor & Francis, 2025-12-31) Ronner, Eva; Márquez-Grant, Nicholas; Lescure, Javier; Benito Sánchez, María
This paper compares the context of the burials of combatants with the burial circumstances of civilian victims from the Spanish Civil War and dictatorship, along with the biological profile and trauma patterns of the remains and associated artefacts. The burial context of the 41 individuals from two cemetery mass grave sites was compared to remains from the International Brigades that were found outside in Central Spain. Different patterns were apparent regarding material culture associations, such as in the presence of ammunition with the brigadiers who had been left where they died in combat, whilst the civilians had few personal effects. Trauma patterns were also compared among the different sites, and the trauma sustained by the Brigadiers differed from that of the civilians who had been killed. Awareness of differing patterns common to combatants and civilians during the Spanish Civil War can assist in efforts to identify remains from this conflict.
Open Access
Punic people were genetically diverse with almost no Levantine ancestors
(Springer, 2025-04-23) Ringbauer, Harald; Salman-Minkov, Ayelet; Regev, Dalit; Olalde, Iñigo; Peled, Tomer; Sineo, Luca; Falsone, Gioacchino; van Dommelen, Peter; Mittnik, Alissa; Lazaridis, Iosif; Pettener, Davide; Bofill, Maria; Mezquida, Ana; Costa, Benjamí; Jiménez, Helena; Smith, Patricia; Vai, Stefania; Modi, Alessandra; Shaus, Arie; Callan, Kim; Curtis, Elizabeth; Kearns, Aisling; Lawson, Ann Marie; Mah, Matthew; Micco, Adam; Oppenheimer, Jonas; Qiu, Lijun; Stewardson, Kristin; Workman, J. Noah; Márquez-Grant, Nicholas; Sáez Romero, Antonio M.; Lavado Florido, María Luisa; Jiménez-Arenas, Juan Manuel; Toro Moyano, Isidro Jorge; Viguera, Enrique; Padilla, José Suárez; Chamizo, Sonia López; Marques-Bonet, Tomas; Lizano, Esther; Riaza, Alicia Rodero; Olivieri, Francesca; Toti, Pamela; Giuliana, Valentina; Barash, Alon; Carmel, Liran; Boaretto, Elisabetta; Faerman, Marina; Lucci, Michaela; La Pastina, Francesco; Nava, Alessia; Genchi, Francesco; Del Vais, Carla; Lauria, Gabriele; Meli, Francesca; Sconzo, Paola; Catalano, Giulio; Cilli, Elisabetta; Fariselli, Anna Chiara; Fontani, Francesco; Luiselli, Donata; Culleton, Brendan J.; Mallick, Swapan; Rohland, Nadin; Nigro, Lorenzo; Coppa, Alfredo; Caramelli, David; Pinhasi, Ron; Lalueza-Fox, Carles; Gronau, Ilan; Reich, David
The maritime Phoenician civilization from the Levant transformed the entire Mediterranean during the first millennium bce1,2,3. However, the extent of human movement between the Levantine Phoenician homeland and Phoenician–Punic settlements in the central and western Mediterranean has been unclear in the absence of comprehensive ancient DNA studies. Here, we generated genome-wide data for 210 individuals, including 196 from 14 sites traditionally identified as Phoenician and Punic in the Levant, North Africa, Iberia, Sicily, Sardinia and Ibiza, and an early Iron Age individual from Algeria. Levantine Phoenicians made little genetic contribution to Punic settlements in the central and western Mediterranean between the sixth and second centuries bce, despite abundant archaeological evidence of cultural, historical, linguistic and religious links4. Instead, these inheritors of Levantine Phoenician culture derived most of their ancestry from a genetic profile similar to that of Sicily and the Aegean. Much of the remaining ancestry originated from North Africa, reflecting the growing influence of Carthage5. However, this was a minority contributor of ancestry in all of the sampled sites, including in Carthage itself. Different Punic sites across the central and western Mediterranean show similar patterns of high genetic diversity. We also detect genetic relationships across the Mediterranean, reflecting shared demographic processes that shaped the Punic world.
Open Access
Toward in-vivo cancer detection: X-ray scattering on thick phantom samples
(MDPI, 2025-04-08) Kubytskyi, Viacheslav; Khonkhodzhaev, Masroor; Tanaka, Aika; Nguyen, Audrey; Lazarev, Alexander; Aram, Byron; Rogers, Keith; Mourokh, Lev; Lazarev, Pavel
As the number of new breast cancer cases grows around the world, there is an unmet need for fast, accurate, and low-cost methods of early cancer detection. It was previously shown that X-ray scattering on lipid molecules can provide the necessary structural biomarker. However, these measurements were performed on small ex vivo samples, and to ensure the progress to in vivo diagnostics, the approach should be extended to larger tissues. We use the phantom fat samples to establish such a procedure. In the obtained X-ray scattering patterns, we observe the characteristic features for the inter-fatty-acid molecular distance. The large size of the samples led to the peak broadening; however, the features remain visible up to 10 cm in thickness. The experimental data are in excellent agreement with the Monte Carlo simulations based on the form factors obtained from the small samples. Our results usher the way for the in vivo monitoring of the structural biomarkers of breast cancer.
Open Access
Polarimetry for sparse multistatic 3D SAR
(Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), 2025-01-01) Welsh, Richard; Andre, Daniel; Finnis, Mark
There is significant interest in multistatic SAR image formation, due to the increased development of satellite constellations and UAV swarms for remote sensing applications. The exploitation of the finer resolution and wider coverage of these geometries has been shown to reduce the often‐impractical data collection requirements of 3D SAR imagery; this offers advantages such as improved target identification and the removal of layover artefacts. This paper presents a novel polarimetric generalisation of the SSARVI algorithm, which was previously developed to exploit sparse aperture multistatic collections for 3D SAR image formation. The new algorithm presented here, named the PolSSARVI algorithm, combines polarimetrically weighted interferograms for determining the 3D scatterer locations from sparse aperture polarimetric collections. The bistatic generalised Huynen fork polarimetric parameters are then determined for the multistatic PolSSARVI 3D SAR renderings. This new approach was tested on both simulated and experimental data. Experimental imagery was formed using measurements from the Cranfield GBSAR laboratory.
Open Access
Future-proofing cities against negative city mobility and public health impacts of impending natural hazards: a system dynamics modelling study
(Elsevier, 2025-03-01) Garcia, Leandro; Hafezi, Mehdi; Lima, Larissa; Millett, Christopher; Thompson, Jason; Wang, Ruoyu; Akaraci, Selin; Goel, Rahul; Reis, Rodrigo; Nice, Kerry A.; Zapata-Diomedi, Belen; Hallal, Pedro C.; Moro, Esteban; Amoako, Clifford; Hunter, Ruth F.
BACKGROUND: The world faces increasing risk from more frequent and larger scale natural hazards, including infectious disease outbreaks (IDOs) and climate change-related extreme weather events (EWEs). These natural hazards are expected to have adverse mobility and public health impacts, with people living in cities especially vulnerable. Little is known about how transport systems can be optimally designed to make cities more resilient to these hazards. Our aim was to investigate how cities' transport systems, and their resulting mobility patterns, affect their capabilities to mitigate mobility and health impacts of future large-scale IDOs and EWEs. METHODS: System dynamics modelling was used to investigate how different city mobility scenarios can affect the health and mobility impacts of four plausible future IDO and EWE (flooding) shocks in three cities: Belfast, UK; Belo Horizonte, Brazil; and Delhi, India. Three city mobility scenarios with incremental degrees of modal shift towards active travel (private motor vehicle volume reduced to 50% and 20% of total road trip volume in vision 1 and 2, and motor vehicle volume [including buses] reduced to 20% of total road trip volume in vision 3) were tested. For each city and each IDO and EWE shock, we estimated the percentage of deaths prevented in visions 1, 2, and 3, relative to the reference scenario, as well as changes in mode share over time. FINDINGS: In all scenarios, all cities showed reduced susceptibility to flooding, with 4-50% of deaths potentially prevented, depending on case city, city mobility, and EWE scenario. The more ambitious the transition towards healthier city mobility patterns, the greater the resilience against flooding. Only vision 3 (the most ambitious transition) showed reduced vulnerability to IDOs, with 6-19% of deaths potentially prevented. Evolution of mode shares varied greatly across cities and mobility scenarios under the IDO shocks. INTERPRETATION: Our results emphasise the importance of well designed, forward-thinking urban transport systems that make cities more resilient and reduce the impact of future public health-related and climate-related threats. FUNDING: UK Prevention Research Partnership, UK Economic and Social Research Council, UK Medical Research Council, UK National Institute for Health and Care Research, Australian Research Council, Australian National Health and Medical Research Council, and Health and Social Care Research and Development Office Northern Ireland.
Open Access
A critical review of liquid, low toxicity chemical warfare agent simulants: enhancing accuracy, safety, and methodological approaches for sampling
(Elsevier, 2025-07-15) Webb, Sally; Coulon, Frederic; Temple, Tracey
The use of simulants is a crucial aspect of studying the behaviour and effects of chemical warfare agents (CWAs) and toxic industrial chemicals (TICs) without the inherent dangers associated with handling and utilising the actual hazardous substances. This review assesses the selection and application of simulants for different classes of CWAs, including nerve agents such as soman, V agents and blister agents such as sulphur and nitrogen mustards. Several simulants were examined, including diethyl malonate, malathion, methyl salicylate, and di (propylene glycol) monomethyl ether, to ascertain their structural and physiochemical properties, yet present minimal toxicity risks. A key insight from this review is the importance of aligning simulant physicochemical properties, such as hydrophobicity, volatility and solubility to those of CWAs. This ensures data relevancy in sampling accuracy and method validation. Our findings demonstrate the efficacy of utilising multiple simulants to model complex interactions within different environmental and forensic matrices, thereby enhancing the precision and reliability of detection and verification procedures. By concentrating on liquid-based simulants and excluding gaseous and solid agents, this review offers a focused assessment of existing sampling methodologies for liquid CWAs in field conditions. It concludes by proposing a unified approach to sampling standards that mitigates the risk with the objective of enhancing the practicality and reliability of detection methods while ensuring personnel safety. Furthermore, this review provides crucial insights for developing robust, field-deployable CWA sampling strategies that strike a balance between accuracy, accessibility and low toxicity.
Open Access
The Didcot Demolition
(The International Society of Explosives Engineers, 2025-01-26) Alford, Roland
In the modern world of demolition safety is paramount and unnecessary or unquantifiable risks are not accepted (FasterCapital, 2024) and all risks must be kept As Low As Reasonably Practicable (ALARP) (BSI, 2017). This principle has led to a huge reduction in deaths in the last 50 years and the statistics continue to improve although this is starting to plateau (Beal, 2007). Under normal circumstances, this is now simply part of the normal way work is done and systems are in place to ensure both safety and economic profits are assured. What happens when the environment is less controlled and risks are unknown, such as after a natural disaster, war, an accident or a stand-up from a failed demolition attempt? A dangerous structure cannot responsibly be left alone with a fence around it so some action must be taken, but how can this be done safely and responsibly? An incident in Didcot, England in which half of a power station’s boiler house being prepared for an explosive demolition collapsed suddenly, killing four men in 2016 provides a useful case study of how technology, creativity and planning can be used to conduct complex demolition fully remotely to avoid any further risk to life.
Open Access
A cognitive-based ISAR system for spectral compatibility applications
(IEEE, 2024-11-11) Rosamilia, Massimo; Aubry, Augusto; Balleri, Alessio; De Maio, Antonio; Martorella, Marco
This paper proposes and analyzes the concept of a cognitive inverse synthetic aperture radar (ISAR) ensuring spectral compatibility in crowded electromagnetic environments. In such a context, cognitive radar system alternates between a perception stage, recognizing possible emitters in its frequency range, and an action stage, synthesizing and transmitting a tailored radar waveform to achieve the desired task while guaranteeing the spectral coexistence with overlaid emitters. The perception stage is carried out by an electronic support measurement system (ESM) that senses the environment and extracts relevant spectral parameters. The action stage employs a tailored signal design process, synthesizing a radar waveform with bespoke spectral notches, enabling ISAR imaging over a wide spectral bandwidth without interfering with the other radio frequency (RF) systems. A key enabling technology for the proposed application is the compressed sensing (CS) framework, allowing accurate ISAR imaging even with missing data in the frequency domain (induced by spectral notches) and in the slow-time dimension (enabling the system to perform additional RF activities). The capabilities of the proposed system are assessed exploiting a dataset of drone measurements in the frequency band [13, 15] GHz. The results highlight the effectiveness of the proposed system to enable the spectral compatibility while delivering high-quality ISAR images.
Open Access
The use of chemiluminescence nitrogen oxides analysis for the study of the decomposition of nitrocellulose
(Wiley, 2025-12-31) Wallace, Ian G.; Mai, Nathalie; Gill, Philip P.; Hood, Rudi; Parker, Matthew; Napper, Libby
Understanding the decomposition of nitrocellulose (NC) and other nitrate esters within storage and usage temperature ranges is essential for managing the service life and safety of (NC)‐containing formulations. High‐temperature decomposition studies often fail to reflect typical storage conditions due to temperature‐dependent mechanisms. This study uses chemiluminescence nitrogen oxides (NOx) analysers to examine NC decomposition, measuring NOx evolution across a wide temperature range. From 20°C to 135°C, decomposition modes include thermolysis, hydrolysis, and physical desorption. Results show NOx can desorb from NC at ambient temperatures, potentially misleading traditional stability tests. The quantity of NOx generated depends on material history and can be reduced by pre‐test procedures. While thermolysis dominates at higher temperatures with an activation energy of 140 kJ.mol−1, hydrolysis is predominant at lower temperatures with an activation energy of 46 kJ.mol−1. This low activation energy should be considered in any life assessment predictions. In this lower temperature regime, moisture significantly affects decomposition rates, especially below 50°C. Whilst the rate increases in the presence of moisture, the activation energy for the hydrolysis process is unaffected. Chemiluminescence NOx analysis has proven to be a powerful tool for studying the low‐temperature decomposition behaviours of NC and NC‐containing formulations. This innovative approach not only enhances the understanding of NC decomposition but also offers a more efficient and accurate method for assessing the stability of NC‐containing formulations.
Open Access
Securing defense critical minerals: challenges and U.S. strategic responses in an evolving geopolitical landscape
(Taylor & Francis, 2025-03-04) Vivoda, Vlado; Matthews, Ron; Andresen, Jensine
The growing dependence on critical minerals (CMs) for advanced military technologies presents significant and escalating challenges for the United States (U.S.) and its allies. As global competition intensifies and supply chains remain vulnerable to geopolitical disruptions, securing a stable supply of defense CMs has become a top strategic priority. This article identifies key defense CMs, emphasizing their dual-use nature and the risks posed by reliance on adversarial nations such as China and Russia. It analyzes U.S. strategic responses and offers recommendations for balancing national security, economic feasibility, and sustainability in managing defense CM supply chains using a comprehensive approach.
Open Access
Beyond survival …
(Taylor & Francis, 2025-12-31) Matthews, Ron
The purpose of this closing paper is to “draw threads” from the collection of papers presented in this Special Issue, with the aim of exploring the defence industrialisation experiences of small and medium powers. Structurally, the paper begins by examining the challenges Tier Two and Three nations face in developing and sustaining defence industries. Attention then switches to assessing the coping strategies these countries adopt in seeking to overcome the limitations imposed by constricted scale and defence economic infrastructure. Government has an important role to play in addressing trade-offs linked to the autonomy, dependence, and efficiency trilemma. The aim is to ensure that the required degree of indigenous defence industrial capacity offers an acceptable level of sovereignty and manufacturing efficiency that is also affordable. The final section speculates on the future defence industrial opportunities and threats Tier Two and Three states are likely to confront. Whatever the future holds, there is a sense from the case studies presented that small and medium powers can survive the constraints of relative smallness and prosper.
Open Access
Chip away everything that doesn't look like an elephant
(The Operational Research Society, 2025-04-02) Salt, John D.
This paper addresses the question of how conceptual models are created in a simulation modelling activity. Assuming an entity-based approach to simulation, some techniques for discovering good entity classes are considered, including personation. Also considered are the notations by which a conceptual model can be represented, and the modes of thought required for good conceptual modelling. Specifically excluded from consideration is the idea of applying a cut-and-dried method. The shortcomings of computers for conceptual modelling are remarked upon.
Open Access
Multistatic synthetic aperture radar autofocus for back projection imaging of a moving target
(Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), 2025-01) Rattan, Anmol; Andre, Daniel; Finnis, Mark V.
Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) plays a vital role in the surveillance of terrestrial and maritime targets, which are commonly in motion. As such, the ability to perform accurate real‐time focusing and localisation on moving targets, particularly those moving with complex motion, is desired. Many existing autofocus algorithms struggle to achieve this and rely on sub‐aperture processing of SAR data to estimate and compensate for phase errors attributed to unknown target motion. This paper presents a new metric‐based autofocus approach, called Localised Threshold Sharpness (LTS), which employs multistatic SAR data to localise and focus a target moving with up to six degrees of freedom motion on a real‐time, pulse‐by‐pulse basis. The algorithm is verified with experimental data, and its performance is compared against the performance of an existing measure of image sharpness suitable for pulse‐by‐pulse autofocusing, namely the intensity‐squared metric, with varying levels of added noise. Normalised cross‐correlation results demonstrate a resemblance of at least 80% between Multistatic SAR images focused via LTS autofocus and Multistatic SAR images ideally focused using target motion knowledge for signal‐to‐noise ratios above 3 dB.
Open Access
Using the combustion continuum to distinguish between explosive material and explosive article reactions for a unified scale in ordnance disposal categorization
(Taylor & Francis, 2025-12-31) Alford, Roland; Hazael, Rachael; Critchley, Richard
In this paper, we continue our exploration of the Combustion Continuum, building upon the foundational concepts and analyses presented in Part One of this two-part series (Alford, Hazael, and Critchley 2024). In the first paper, we introduced the benefit of considering burning, deflagration, and detonation (BDD) as lying on a continuum, defining the transition points from each regime to the next. This second paper builds on that background for a deeper understanding of how it can inform an understanding of how munitions react to explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) techniques designed specifically to prevent detonation of the explosive. We propose that when an explosive material within an explosive article (munition) detonates, the munition is said to high-order, but when the material burns or deflagrates, the munition low-orders. In short, a bomb explodes while the explosive within it detonates and low-orders when it deflagrates. This statement is explored in depth to form a robust justification for this and then propose a new munition reaction scale, based on physical evidence that allows results of EOD interventions to be correctly and consistently categorized.
Open Access
Current status of forensic anthropology in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region
(Springer, 2025-02-15) Mansour, Cindy; Márquez-Grant, Nicholas; Benito Sánchez, María
Background Forensic anthropology has evolved significantly, from its foundations in the nineteenth century to its formal establishment in the twentieth century and in particular with modern advancements from the 1970s onward. Its role in human rights investigations during the 1980s in Latin America and the 1990s in the Balkans, exemplifies its global impact. However, the practice and application of forensic anthropology in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region remain underexplored. This study assesses the current status of forensic anthropology in this region through a brief literature review and online interviews with academics and practitioners in forensic anthropology or closely related disciplines. The interviews addressed the medico-legal system structure, forensic science capabilities, training efforts, practitioner availability, case types (medico-legal and humanitarian), and resources like radiological imaging. Results The study revealed that forensic anthropology is largely underutilized in the MENA region’s medico-legal death investigation systems. Factors such as limited human capital, lack of discipline awareness, varying legal and procedural systems, and insufficient academic infrastructure hinder its integration. Challenges include political instability, safety concerns for practitioners, and inadequate resources. The study highlights ongoing efforts by practitioners to improve the field through theoretical and practical training, capacity building, and resource development. Conclusion The findings underscore the need for strategic investments to strengthen forensic anthropology in the MENA region. Recommendations include enhancing education and training, fostering interdisciplinary collaboration, disseminating scientific knowledge, increasing access to resources, and revising medico-legal frameworks. These measures can bridge existing gaps and advance forensic anthropology’s role in medico-legal and humanitarian contexts.
Open Access
Review on laser initiation of energetic materials
(Wiley, 2025-12-31) Fang, Xiao; Akhavan, Jacqueline
Laser initiation of energetic materials has been an interesting and promising research area due to its safety and reliability features and its great potential for initiation device miniaturisation. This article has critically reviewed its research in terms of the effects of essential initiation parameters, including laser wavelength, optical absorption and laser power on its performance. It aims to show the research and development of laser ignition initiation applications, in particular explosive devices. In addition, this article may also give guidance and recommendations for future research and development in laser initiation applications to energetic materials.
Open Access
Automatic heterogeneous runtime using signal processing domain-specific and parallel patterns
(Springer, 2025-04-01) Zaidi, Yaseen; Winberg, Simon
Parallel and signal processing patterns for large-scale radio data applications have been captured with a new domain-specific language (DSL), OptiSDR. The intermediate representations (IR) of the code are optimized at the frontend with the Delite compiler targeted for heterogeneous computing architecture (HCA). The design flow begins at the abstract programming model and, at a later stage, addresses tuning of the domain applications to the target HCA comprising GPUs and MCPU, as well as scheduling and optimal memory access. For a variety of signal processing use cases, the framework has shown up to two orders of magnitude higher computational speed than MPI and C++ and comparable performance to architecture-specific CUDA. Additional gains are ease of use, scalable computing, and efficient runtime.
Open Access
Evaluating the scope of peer review in digital Forensics: insights from Norway and the U.K.
(Elsevier, 2025-03) Bauge, Rune Kenneth; Ryser, Elénore; Sunde, Nina; Horsman, Graeme
This paper investigates the implementation and utilisation of peer review practices in digital forensics (DF) within Norway and the U.K. Through a comprehensive survey of 113 DF practitioners and managers, we explore the extent to which peer review is integrated into DF investigations and the variations in practices between these two countries. Our findings reveal that while both Norway and the U.K. recognize the importance of peer review in ensuring the integrity and accuracy of DF work, there is a tendency to limit peer reviews to the examination of reports, rather than extending them to more thorough verification of results and methodologies. Utilising the Peer Review Hierarchy for DF as an analytical framework, our study highlights a significant gap in the depth of peer review practices, with both countries primarily focusing on lower-level reviews that are less likely to detect critical errors. The paper discusses the implications of these findings in the field of DF, emphasising the need for more robust and comprehensive peer review mechanisms to enhance the quality and reliability of digital evidence. Furthermore, we discuss the systemic and resource-related challenges that may hinder the implementation of more extensive peer review practices.
Open Access
Anisotropy visualisation from X-ray diffraction of biological apatite in mixed phase calcified tissue samples
(Springer, 2025-02-14) Scott, Robert; Lyburn, Iain D.; Cornford, Eleanor; Bouzy, Pascaline; Stone, Nicholas; Greenwood, Charlene; Gosling, Sarah; Arnold, Emily L.; Bouybayoune, Ihsanne; Pinder, Sarah E.; Rogers, Keith
X-ray diffraction is widely used to characterise the mineral component of calcified tissue. Broadening of the diffraction peaks yields valuable information on the size of coherently diffracting domains, sometimes loosely described as crystallite size or crystallinity. These domains are markedly anisotropic, hence a single number describing their size is misleading. We present a novel variation on a method for visualising crystallographic anisotropy in X-ray diffraction data. This provides an intuitively interpretable depiction of crystalline domain size and anisotropy. The new method involves creating a polar plot of calculated domain thickness for peaks in a diffractogram versus crystallographic direction. Points with the least error are emphasised. Anisotropic domain dimensions are calculated by refining an ellipsoidal model in a whole pattern fit. These dimensions are then used to overlay an ellipse on the peak broadening plot. This is illustrated by application of the method to calcifications in breast tissue with suspected cancer, which frequently contain whitlockite as well as nanocrystalline apatite. Like most biogenic apatite, this exhibits markedly anisotropic peak broadening. The nature of this anisotropy offers potentially useful information on normal function and pathology of calcified tissue and is a frequently neglected crystallographic feature of these materials.