MERSEYSIDE and Cheshire police have joined diggers at an archaeological site to learn how to identify burial plots and handle skeletons.
Teams of crime scene investigators have helped retrieve scores of skeletons at the remains of a medieval chapel where a 5,000-year-old wooden ritual circle similar to Stonehenge has been discovered.
The unique partnership - the brainchild of Bernard Roberts, Head of Forensic Investigations at Cheshire Police - is designed to give the CSIs hands-on experience.
Techniques picked up during courses run for them specially at the dig at Poulton near Chester will help the police experts in locating and then preserving buried bodies in murder investigations.
They are being taught by site director Mike Emery and his colleagues how to:
Identify burial plots by reading the signs of previously disturbed ground
Use ground penetration radar to show them how far they can dig without disturbing a body
Follow rules when lifting a skeleton. There is a precise order in which the bones should be lifted
Preserve the skeleton properly, so it is not damaged for the post mortem.
Mr Roberts said: "The course gives the CSIs a learning experience and is of great practical use. Previously, if we found a body in an underground location, we would have to buy in archaeological expertise to help us maximise the evidence. Now our staff will have the practical knowledge themselves.
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