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Interview: The dark world of disaster archaeology

By Lucy Middleton

18 March 2008

New Scientist. Science news and long reads from expert journalists, covering developments in science, technology, health and the environment on the website and the magazine.

(Image: John Soares)

Blast damage to a police car following a simulated suicide bombing

Blast damage to a police car following a simulated suicide bombing

(Image: Richard A Gould)

FAR volunteers locating evidence at the scene of The Station nightclub fire

FAR volunteers locating evidence at the scene of The Station nightclub fire

(Image: Richard A Gould)

When mass disaster strikes, the priority is to save lives. But when the emergency services have done all they can, someone has to recover human remains for the victims’ families and for legal and forensic purposes. This is where anthropologist Richard Gould comes in. He is a leader in a new field that is bringing the tools of anthropology and archaeology to the investigation of…

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