Recovering Australian war dead from Western France, Fromelles
Abstract
In 2009 the Australian and British armies contracted the company Oxford Archaeology. Their job was to exhume and identify soldiers of the first AIF who died in NW France during the battle of Fromelles (July 1916). The soldiers had been buried in mass graves by the Bavarian military.
The majority of the 250 recovered have now been identified, using a combination of DNA, osteology, and associated artefacts. They have been reburied in a dedicated cemetery.
Richard Wright was senior forensic adviser to Oxford Archaeology. He will talk about the organisation of the work, the day to day activities at the site, and the analysis and publication of the research.
About the presenter
Richard Wright AM is Emeritus Professor of Anthropology at the University of Sydney. His interest in forensic archaeology, mass graves, and execution sites developed in 1990-1991, when the Australian government employed him to investigate mass graves in Ukraine originating from the Holocaust of World War II. In the four years from 1997-2000 he was Chief Archaeologist for the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. In that role, he led an international tea
About Archaeology Working Papers
The Working Papers in Archaeology seminar series provides a forum for dissemination of archaeological research and ideas amongst UQ archaeology students and staff. All students are invited to attend the series and postgraduate students, from honours upwards, are invited to present their research. The aim is to provide opportunities for students, staff and those from outside UQ, to present and discuss their work in an informal environment. It is hoped that anyone interested in current archaeological directions, both within and outside the School and University, will be able to attend and contribute to the series.
