Forensics Team Helps Church Find Graves
Posted on August 2, 2010
A small cemetery across the street from Chartiers Cross
Roads Presbyterian Church in Washington, Pa.,
always has mystified worshipers. Approximately 50 gravestones mark the remains
of past parishioners - hardly a number that fits a church established in 1810. In order to clarify this mystery, a Cal U forensics team dedicated their time
and ground-penetrating radar (GPR) to help the church locate unmarked burial
locations. GPR measures disruptions in the ground as much as 15 feet below the
surface. At this particular location, a soil disturbance is likely to represent
buried caskets and remains. Dr. Cassandra Kuba, assistant professor
and chief forensic anthropologist in the Department of Justice, Law and Society; Dr. John Nass, professor and
archaeologist in the Department of Justice, Law and Society; and students Adina Necciai, Donetta Snook and Donovan Marcoux
worked together to measure disruptions and estimate the number of graves that
have lost markers throughout the past two centuries. The team first tested the GPR on July 23, to make sure all
components were working properly. Using wooden dowels as markers, they then
mapped a grid on the property to help determine the specific location and
direction in which the remains were buried. The following day, team members pushed the GPR along the
grid and sent digital records of data to a computer for further review by the
forensics team. As part of an ongoing celebration marking the church's 200th
anniversary, parishioners were encouraged to participate in the field research
and use the GPR. Many of the gravestones remaining in the cemetery are from
the mid-1800s, and bear surnames of Scottish, Irish and Welsh descent. It is
estimated that the cemetery has 200 to 300 unmarked gravesites. In addition to using specialized radars and
other equipment, forensic anthropology students at Cal U learn to
distinguish
human remains from animal bones, determine individuals' ancestry and
examine
specimens for signs of trauma. Please visit the Department of Justice, Law and Society for more information.
