Chemical Enhancement of Bloody Footwear Impressions from Buried Substrates

Footwear impressions are regarded as one of the most common forensic evidence types left at crime scenes. A review of research to date describes previous tests on the survival of footwear impressions in a range of contaminants on a myriad of surfaces. None, however, examined the effects of the burial environment on such impressions. Using human blood as a contaminant, footwear impressions were made on samples of white cotton, newspaper, and black plastic trash bags and were buried for specific time frames, from one to four weeks. The study examines the subsequent development of the surviving impressions postexcavation, using chemical enhancement techniques of ninhydrin, acid black 1, leucocrystal violet (LCV), and Bluestar. The majority of impressions recovered were from the substrates that were in the soil for the shortest period. Poor recovery rates and loss of impressions were observed on substrates buried for more than two weeks. LCV and Bluestar proved most effective for enhancing and retrieving impressions. Impressions were able to be examined by a trained forensic footwear investigator to identify class, individual, and wear characteristics of the impression itself. Potential survival of such identifying features is of paramount importance to an investigation

Reimaging the Black Friary: Recent Approaches to Seeing Beyond Modern Activity at the Dominican Friary, Trim, Co Meath, Republic of Ireland

Archaeological and forensic searches for buried structural and human remains can, in some instances, be hindered by modern rubbish or rubble, often with poor data quality where ferrous objects are present, in clay soils, and/or in waterlogged areas. This study was a multi-method geophysical survey (ground-penetrating radar, electromagnetic, and gradiometry) of unexcavated areas at the Black Friary to delineate areas of anthropogenic activity and refine the standards for ground-penetrating radar survey with the intention of acquiring high resolution data as a method to maximise the potential to positively identify grave-like anomalies. The Black Friary, a Dominican Friary founded in 1263, was one of several Dominican houses founded after the order arrived in Ireland. After the dissolution of religious orders in the 16th century, the Friary was demolished and quarried. Historic quarrying has produced a thick (c. 40-60 cm) rubble layer across most of the site which is overlain by modern dumping. Despite the destruction of the Friary, it continued to hold significance within the community, as evidenced by its continued use as a burial ground throughout the post-medieval period. The Friary is situated in a semi-urban setting outside the northern medieval boundary of Trim town. The surviving ruins of the Friary present as grassy hummocks and exposed stonework

The archaeological database—New relations?

Over two decades have passed since the foundations of the relational data model were formalised (Codd 1970) and today a large number of Database Management Systems (DBMS) based on its principles are readily available. The better of these have attained a high degree of sophistication, running in a variety of environments — micros, workstations, minis and mainframes — and have achieved some standardisation through the adoption of Standard (or Structured) Query Language (SQL). As such, the user who invests much time in learning to use a DBMS and its development tools, for example INGRES, will have little problem when the present micro is dumped and a workstation appears on the desk. More importantly for archaeological information, the data, its structure, and application programs will also transfer with minimal upheaval. This is a salutary warning to those investing a great deal of resources in non-upwardly mobile micro-based DBMS and they are urged to consider employing either ORACLE or INGRES (the current flagships of the 4th generation language multi- environment relational DBMS) if they wish to ensure the longevity of their work. The reference to work rather than just to data is deliberate and the cornerstone of this paper, for information is not just data values; it is the context and meaning of those values that ultimately determine the usefulness of the data. Data structure, user interfaces, validation procedures, help systems and applications are inextricably linked with the raw data, giving it context and providing a crude but non-trivial 'knowledge base' without which data files may be useless, or even a negative resource, if misunderstood. Although high-quality relational DBMS did not come into general use as commercial products until the late 1980s, deficiencies in the relational model had already been noted in the previous decade. Important new products are likely to become generally available soon. Many of the major research areas of general DBMS have direct application in the management of archaeological data. The aim of this paper is to discuss some of the limitations and deficiencies of currently available relational DBMS, to review informally the most relevant areas of development (and one area which has yet to be developed), and to consider the implications for mainstream archaeology