Edinburgh Unit for Forensic Anthropology
RESEARCH GROUP AT THE UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH
Crete Fieldschool 2019
The skeletal material for this study is selected from the cemeteries of St. Konstantinos and Pateles, Heraklion, Crete. The bones are gathered, cleaned and placed in boxes and stored in a special room all together or in family tombs if exists. Unless living members of a deceased person can afford to keep them in the grave with a “rental fee” it is to be inhumed in a designated area by the city. Current Director of the fieldschool (E. Kranioti) was given permission by the local District Attorney according to standard procedure, to create a skeletal collection known as the Cretan collection for developing standards for modern Greeks. The collection is stored at the Forensic Pathology department of the ministry of Justice.
​
This year’s field school will concentrate on finishing the documentation of the collection. More specifically students will have the opportunity to:
-
Prepare an inventory of the remains
-
Record the completeness of the individual skeletons
-
Describe the condition of the remains
-
Identify unique or interesting patterns of morphological variation
-
Estimate the age of and stature of part of the sample
-
Assess patterns of health and disease in the sample
-
Assess antemortem and perimortem trauma for cranial and postcranial
-
Take measurements of several elements and assess bilateral asymmetries
-
Attend lectures on forensic casework by staff of the University of Crete and the local Forensic Pathology division of the Hellenic Ministery of Justice.
Example of a skeleton of the Cretan collection
In addition, the collection will be available for developing research projects within the scope of an MSc dissertation.
Available topics include:
-
Bilateral asymmetries and biological profile in modern Cretans
-
Exploring body proportions of Modern Cretans
-
3D pair matching projects
-
Postmortem CT in forensic investigations
-
Experimental ballistic trauma
-
...and much more.....
Dates: May 13th to May 30 2019
Location: Amudara, Heraklion, Island of Crete
A minimum number of 10 students are required for this course to run.
Fee: £700 per person.
This includes accommodation and transport from the airport as well as an excursion which is going to be planed according to the group’s suggestions.
For more information on the application process please contact Dr. Elena Kranioti: elena.kranioti@ed.ac.uk. A copy of the application can be found here
Deadline for booking a place is March 30. Special discounts apply to current and former students of the University of Edinburgh and applicant booking their place before the end for February. Places are subject to availability so please contact us asap to secure a place. Once accepted you can book your place here
​
Check out some of the projects that took place during previous fieldschools:
-
Experimental trauma to investigate the Lundin Links murder as part of the Polyphonic Murders project
-
Cranial trauma in handgun executions: Experimental data using polyurethane proxies.Forensic Science International. 2017 Link to youtube video
-
Testing the Coimbra Method: Discovering Possible Causes of Fibrocartilaginous Entheseal Change. Am J Phys Anthropol 2017: 162 (S64):235
-
An investigation of fractures and polio infection: a case study from a modern Cretan collection. BABAO conference 2017
-
Case study: Age estimation using structural, chemical, and biomechanical data of a modern rib retrieved from the seashore. Revue de Medecine Legal 2017;8(4):181
-
Postmortem CT in the investigation of decomposed human remains: advantages and limitations. Revue de Medecine Legal 2017;8(4):184-185