HOW CRIME INVESTIGATORS USE SIMILAR TECHNIQUES TO ARCHAEOLOGISTS

PROFESSOR PATRICIA WILTSHIRE

LECTURE

FRIDAY, 18 OCTOBER, LETHERHEAD INSTITUTE

Archaeologists use plants, fungi, soil, and other microscopic entities to reconstruct ancient environments. Now forensic ecologists are doing the same to investigate crimes on behalf of the police. Professor Patricia Wiltshire has worked on over 250 criminal cases, including rape and murder, across the UK. Using actual case histories, her talk outlined how tiny particles that had accumulated in lakes and peat, on  ancient buried  soil surfaces and on archaeological bone and artefacts, also stuck to modern items such as clothing, vehicles, and footwear. This allowed people's movements to be reconstructed and helped decide outcomes in criminal investigations.

This lecture replaced the scheduled one on the development of hedgerows which Professor Wiltshire will give on another occasion.

Society lectures are given in the Abraham Dixon Hall at the Letherhead Institute. Coffee/tea from 7.30pm, talk at 8pm. Admission £2.