CSI: Wherever Forensic archaeology and crime investigations

The use of forensic archaeology in crime investigations in Britain began in the mid-1980s and has developed massively since. The techniques deployed first received widespread public attention when Fred and Rosemary West's house at Cromwell Street, Gloucester, was searched in February 1994. Nine sets of human remains were found buried there.

Fewer than a dozen forensic archaeologists are regularly called on by police forces across the country to assist in search operations. Often they use geophysics equipment, such as ground penetrating radar, to identify "hotspots" which should be excavated.