Forensic archaeology and illegal familial repatriation and burial of a fallen WW1 soldier, Nièvre, central-east France

Abstract

The context of past conflicts, especially World War I or World War II, is treated differently in various countries. In France, the discovery of military human remains falls under the responsibility of the Ministry of the Armed Forces. Collaborations between the Ministry and national Universities allow for interdisciplinary studies that meet international scientific standards. This case report highlights the importance of interdisciplinary approaches to achieve the identification of skeletonized individuals. An abandoned grave vault in a small town of Nièvre, central-east France, uncovered three skeletons associated with militaria. Initially, the remains were believed to belong to three Senegalese Riflemen executed nearby in 1940, but some of the evidence appeared contradictory. The aim of this study is to determine whether these three skeletons were the three Senegalese Riflemen or other individuals. Through an interdisciplinary approach, combining the position of the bodies in the vault, anthropological analysis of the human remains, and archival research, it was determined that the three bodies belonged to the same family. The remains were those of an illegally repatriated body of a soldier from the battlefields of WW1, together with his parents. It is suggested that they illegally repatriated him from the battlefield/cemetery and then buried him in the family vault, and later, when the parents passed away, they were also buried alongside him. This case illustrates the profound violence of the First World War and the many family losses.

Simple summary

The identities of three skeletons discovered buried together in a graveyard were investigated due to the presence of militaria artefacts associated with one of them, revealing a rare case of illegal World War I fallen soldier familial repatriation.