Abstract
Around 27,000 people were killed in the province of Asturias during the Spanish Civil War, with several thousands killed after the war ended. There are currently over 2,000 known mass burial locations throughout Spain, but many more are unknown. Geophysics is a useful tool employed to help in the active attempts to document and improve knowledge about victims from this conflict. This paper details a non-invasive study of the Cementerio de El Salvador, in the city of Oviedo, Northern Spain. Part of the cemetery contains a known mass burial with approximately 1,300 individuals from the Spanish Civil War and post-war repression eras. Multi-frequency near-surface geophysical techniques were undertaken, after permission, to enhance knowledge about which, if any, techniques should be used to detect, delineate and analyse such mass graves. Multi-frequency (250 MHz and 500 MHz) ground-penetrating radar surveys were acquired together with 2D and 3D Electrical Resistivity Tomography datasets. The results have established the limits of the mass grave and improve the knowledge of the internal mass grave structure. The paper also shows the importance of considering the climatic conditions during data acquisition. This has important implications for the successful detection of recent historical mass burials using near-surface geophysics.
Original language | English |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | e1-e9 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | Forensic Science International |
Volume | 287 |
Early online date | 27 Mar 2018 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Jun 2018 |
Bibliographical note
The Ayuntamiento de Oviedo, victim family committee, and the workers at the Cementerio municipal de El Salvador, Oviedo, are thanked for allowing site access and fieldwork. Oscar Pelka Barreto of Keele University is also thanked for his initial research. Members of the Hydro-geophysics and NDT Modelling Unit at the University of Oviedo are thanked for logistical, equipment and software support. EU Erasmus student exchange funding had part-funded Oscar Pelka Barreto and Daniel Roberts’ MSc placement at Oviedo University.Keywords
- Forensics
- Geophysics
- Mass graves
- Spanish Civil War