Past Crimes: Archaeological and Historical Evidence for Ancient Misdeeds

214 Pages·2015·11.59 MB·English

by  Julie Rosemary Wileman

PAST
CRIMES
i
ii
PAST
CRIMES
Archaeological and Historical Evidence
for Ancient Misdeeds
Julie Wileman
iii
FirstpublishedinGreatBritainby
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ISBN9781473823198
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Contents
ListofFigures...............................................................................................vi
ListofPlates.................................................................................................vii
Chapter1 Archaeology,History,CrimeandPunishment.....................1
Chapter2 AncientCrimes...................................................................21
Chapter3 ClassicalCrimes.................................................................44
Chapter4 DarkAgeCrimes................................................................66
Chapter5 MedievalCrimes................................................................86
Chapter6 EarlyModernCrime.........................................................108
Chapter7 CrimeintheIndustrialAge..............................................130
Chapter8 VictorianandEdwardianCrime.......................................155
Notes..........................................................................................................179
Bibliography...............................................................................................183
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List of Figures
1.Somepollengrainvarieties
2.Thecarbon­14curve
3.Maleandfemaleskullmorphology
4.TheDNAdoublehelix
5.Cuneiformtablet
6.ThejudgementofAnubis–thedeceased’sheartweighedagainstafeather
7.Trainedmonkeyarrestingathief
8.MummyofRamesesIII
9.BonepointbetweenthevertebraeofastoneageindividualfromSouthAfrica
10.VigilesgraffitofoundinRome
11.CrucifixionboneandnailfromasiteinIsrael
12.ARomanleadcursetablet
13.AnAnglo­Saxonmoot
14.SuttonHoosandbody
15.ThefiledteethofaJomsviking
16.TheHedebychest
17.ThewoodensignclaimedtobetheTitulusCrucis
18.TheinscriptionontheGlastonburycross
19.TheWinchesterreliquary
20.Amedievalrabbitwarrenafteramanuscriptillustration
21.Punishmentofabaker
22.ThegraveofapossibleindenturedservantboyinAnnapolis
23.Awitchandherfamiliarsfromaseventeenthcenturywoodcut
24.Aseventeenthcenturypirateship
25.Themassacreofthesurvivorsofthe‘Batavia’
26.HangingoutsideNewgateprison
27.PlanofPentonvillePrison1840–42
28.ExecutionsatTyburn
29.Blackbeard
30.GraffitoonashiponawallatBrighstone,IsleofWight
31.AcopyofcourtsketchesmadeduringthetrialofElizaJaneScoffham
32.FranzMuller
33.KatherineWebsterandJuliaMarthaThomas
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List of Plates
1.TheTarpeianRock
2.CriminalbeingsavagedbywildbeastsintheRomanarena
3.Theordealbyhotiron
4.An‘Ulfberht’sword
5.Medievalprisonerbeingtakentothelock­up
6.‘Marketscenewithapickpocket‘byLouiseMoillon,early17thcentury
7.HistoricbuildingsatTortuga
8.AticketforthehangingofJonathanWild
9.Victorianpolicemanc.1900
10.TheexecutionofKatherineWebsteratWandsworthGaol
11.NedKellyphotographedin1880
12.PrisonersworkingatthetreadmillatColdbathFields
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Chapter 1
Introduction
Murder, assault, thievery, fraud – for as long as there have been groups of
humans living together, these and many other forms of crime have been
committed. In this book, we shall take a look at the record of crime and
punishmentinthisandothercountries,andatthecontributionofarchaeology,
history and forensic science to the identification of crimes, victims and
perpetrators, as well as forms of punishment. For earlier periods, archaeology
must be our main source of information, while historical documents help to
illuminate more recent events. Even when studying more recent times,
however,archaeologyisplayinganincreasingpartinhelpingustounderstand
crimesandthewaysinwhichsocietieshavedealtwithcriminals.
In the 1970s and 1980s, police forces started to ask archaeologists to help
find important evidence at scenes of certain types of crime. Subsequently, the
methodology and skills of archaeologists were put into service for the
investigation of other types of events, such as mass disasters, and the finding
and identification of victims of war crimes. Today, the police and other
agencies regularly employ forensic archaeologists to help them locate and
evaluate material evidence at scenes of crime. Their job is to look for buried
items – to give names to victims and to find items that may help to identify
criminals, such as the weapons used in the commission of an offence. They
arealsoaskedtohelpfindbodiesandtoestablishhowandwhentheydiedand
were buried. Some of the most harrowing work in this area occurs during the
investigations of massacres committed as war crimes. Not only is the forensic
archaeologist responsible for helping to identify victims for their families, but
also to recover the evidence needed to prosecute their killers. Forensic
archaeologists work at disaster scenes such as air crashes and tsunamis to
identify the dead. In addition they also investigate ancient crimes, using
modern forensic science to shed light on murders that took place centuries
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