Admission requirements
BA or BSc degree in Archaeology (also a requirement for Study Abroad/Exchange students and Contract students);
Practical experience in archaeological excavations.
Description
Forensic archaeology is an archaeological discipline that uses archaeological knowledge to answer medico-legal and forensic questions.
The course consists of 10 lectures followed by a full-day practical session and a presentation session. The lectures give you a broad introduction to Dutch criminal law, criminalistics, criminology, human taphonomy and forensic archaeology. You will also learn how these disciplines are integrated within the Dutch medico-legal and forensic framework.
The practical is a hands-on excavation exercise that aims to provide a good insight into the application of forensic archaeological theories and methods. The excavation exercise is a collaborative effort of a group of 4-6 participants.
After the excavation you will write a forensic excavation report, accordingly to the guidelines of the Netherlands Forensic Institute. The written report will be presented and defended by the participants in front of the class. Report writing and oral presentation is a collaborative effort of 2 participants.
Course objectives
The primary goal of the course is to learn how to excavate a clandestine grave and how to report the evidence (in a report and orally) within a medico-legal and forensic context. Additionally, the participants will obtain:
basic knowledge of and insight into Dutch criminal law, criminalistics, criminology, human taphonomy and forensic archaeology;
critical assessment of current research methods in forensic archaeology;
insight in the applicability of forensic archaeology in the medico-legal and forensic setting;
ability to formulate well-structured clear arguments in report writing and oral presentation, including the use of a criminalistic approach.
Timetable
Course schedule details can be found in the MA and MSc time schedule.
Mode of instruction
Lectures;
Practical.
Course load
5 x 2 hours of lectures + practical excavation techniques (1,5 ec);
250 pages of literature (2 ec);
Excavation report of ca. 2,000 words (1 ec);
Presentation (0,5 ec).
Assessment method
Active participation during the practical (20%);
Excavation report (60%);
Oral presentation of the excavation results (20%).
Compensation between the individual grades is allowed.
A retake is only possible for the excavation report and only if all requirements, including attendance, have been met.
All assessment deadlines (exams, retakes, paper deadlines etc.) can be found in the MA and MSc examination schedule.
Reading list
Titles will be provided on Brightspace before the start of the course.
Registration
Registration via uSis is mandatory.
The Administration Office will register all BA1 students for their tutorials (not lectures; register via uSis!).
BA2, BA3, MA/MSc and RMA/RMSc students are required to register for all lectures and tutorials well in time.
The Administration Office registers all students for their exams, students are not required to do this in uSis.
Exchange and Study Abroad students, please see the Study Abroad/Exchange website for information on how to apply.
All information (costs, registration, entry requirements, etc.) for those who are interested in taking this course as a Contractstudent is on the Contractonderwijs Archeologie webpage (in Dutch).
Contact
For more information about this course, please contact drs. W.J. Groen.
Remarks
Compulsory attendance;
The course is limited to 20 participants from the Faculty of Archaeology, to be selected on the basis of excavation experience and a short motivation letter (750 words) that has to be submitted through the Brightspace module of the course, ca. 3 weeks before the start;
A maximum of 4 Forensic Criminology MSc students from the Faculty of Law can also participate in the course, after submitting a short motivation letter (750 words), ca. 3 weeks before the start;
The course is a joint venture between the Faculties of Archaeology and Law, and the forensic archaeologists of the Netherlands Forensic Institute (NFI).