ABSTRACT
There is already quite a wide literature on search techniques for buried clandestine remains, notably Killam’s Detection of Human Remains (1990), chapters in recent volumes (e.g. Hunter et al. 1996; Cox 2001), papers which evaluate methodologies in specific contexts (e.g. France et al. 1997) and a range of review works on specific methods (e.g. Komar 1999; Buck 2003). Locating burials falls within the wider remit of search per se, and hence within a wider methodological literature which embraces, for example, search and rescue, lost persons, mountain accidents, and runaway children (e.g. Stoffel 2001). However, there are significant differences in search for individuals who may still be alive and those who may have been disposed of and buried. Nevertheless, although the various subjects and contexts may differ, there are common underlying themes in terms of search theory, management and resourcing.
