ABSTRACT
This chapter is about the archaeology of mass graves. There are various types of mass grave (for example, plague pits and battlefield burials) but this chapter deals with mass graves that are excavated for forensic and evidential reasons or to identify victims and not just to satisfy a desire for knowledge about the past (for a definition of mass graves, see Skinner 1987). These mass graves are likely to be of recent age due to the nature of the legal process and statutes of limitation, and their recency generates problems that are more challenging than those offered by historical mass graves. Among these enhanced problems is the unpleasantness of excavating putrefying soft tissue, coping with grieving relatives, and securing the excavation team from attack by perpetrators or supporters of the killings.
