The application of dual energy X-ray soil screening in forensic archaeology

dc.contributor.authorKent, Daniel
dc.contributor.authorMárquez-Grant, Nicholas
dc.date.accessioned2022-09-20T10:03:30Z
dc.date.available2022-09-20T10:03:30Z
dc.date.issued2022-09-07
dc.description.abstractThe need to forensically search soil for small artefacts at a burial site or traces of evidence in a deposition site is a common task shared by investigators and forensic archaeologists. In forensic casework, the importance of finding small pieces of evidence, such as personal effects or ballistic fragments, cannot be overstated as it can assist in the positive identification of the deceased, give an insight into the manner and cause of death, and identify any perpetrators. The soil search methods known as wet and dry sieving, are cumbersome, time-consuming and have limited success for some soil types. This often leads to the decision not to search, resulting in missed opportunities to identify potential evidence. The primary aim of this study was to investigate if a dual energy X-ray baggage scanner could be used to search for items of potential forensic interest in soil. A trial was conducted using a Smiths Detection ScanTrailer 100100 V-2is mobile X-ray inspection system to establish if it could be used to detect organic, inorganic, and metallic items located within soil. The soil type and natural variables such as water and organic content were adjusted to simulate different environments. The baggage scanner was found to provide a quick and easy way to detect items contained within various soil types, particularly in a sand rich matrix. It is estimated that using this method to search 1 m3 of soil, when broken down into samples that are < 13 cm in depth, would take around one hour to complete, compared with 100 to 150 person-hours by manual sieving. This is believed to be the first use of dual energy X-ray technology for this purpose and shows the potential for further research and use of this method in forensic archaeology.en_UK
dc.identifier.citationKent D, Márquez-Grant N, Lane DW. (2022) The application of dual energy x-ray soil screening in forensic archaeology. Science and Justice, Volume 62, Issue 5, pp. 582-593en_UK
dc.identifier.issn1355-0306
dc.identifier.urihttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.scijus.2022.08.005
dc.identifier.urihttps://dspace.lib.cranfield.ac.uk/handle/1826/18458
dc.language.isoenen_UK
dc.publisherElsevieren_UK
dc.rightsAttribution 4.0 International*
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/*
dc.subjectRadiographyen_UK
dc.subjectSearchen_UK
dc.subjectHuman remainsen_UK
dc.subjectBallisticsen_UK
dc.subjectScreeningen_UK
dc.subjectDisaster Responseen_UK
dc.titleThe application of dual energy X-ray soil screening in forensic archaeologyen_UK
dc.typeArticleen_UK

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