title: Analyzing and Interpreting Lime Burials from the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939): A Case Study from La Carcavilla Cemetery.
abstract: Over 500 victims of the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) were buried in the cemetery of La Carcavilla (Palencia, Spain). White material, observed in several burials, was analyzed with Raman spectroscopy and powder XRD, and confirmed to be lime. Archaeological findings at La Carcavilla's cemetery show that the application of lime was used in an organized way, mostly associated with coffinless interments of victims of Francoist repression. In burials with a lime cast, observations made it possible to draw conclusions regarding the presence of soft tissue at the moment of deposition, the sequence of events, and the presence of clothing and other evidence. This study illustrates the importance of analyzing a burial within the depositional environment and taphonomic context.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire PACEA De la Préhistoire à l'Actuel: Culture, Environnement et Anthropologie UMR 5199, Université de Bordeaux, Bat. B8, Allee Geoffroy St Hilaire, CS 50023, 33615, Pessac Cedex, France.|Department of Archaeological Sciences, University of Bradford, West Yorkshire, BD7 1DP, UK.
authors.forename: Eline M J
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Schotsmans
authors.affiliation: Unit of Physical Anthropology, Department of Biology, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, C/Darwin 2, Madrid, 28049, Spain.|Department of Physical Anthropology, Aranzadi Society of Sciences, Zorroagagaina 11, Donostia, Basque Country, Spain.
authors.forename: Almudena
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: García-Rubio
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Bradford, West Yorkshire, BD7 1DP, UK.
authors.forename: Howell G M
authors.initials: HG
authors.lastname: Edwards
authors.affiliation: School of Chemistry, University of Lincoln, Lincoln, LN6 7DL, UK.
authors.forename: Tasnim
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Munshi
authors.affiliation: Department of Archaeological Sciences, University of Bradford, West Yorkshire, BD7 1DP, UK.
authors.forename: Andrew S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Wilson
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Anthropology, Aranzadi Society of Sciences, Zorroagagaina 11, Donostia, Basque Country, Spain.|Department of Paleobiology, National Museum of Natural Sciences (MNCN-CSIC), José Gutierrez Abascal 2, 28006, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Luis
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ríos
mesh_terms: D002048:Burial; D017610:Calcium Compounds; D055699:Cemeteries; D018732:Forensic Anthropology; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D010087:Oxides; D013030:Spain; D013059:Spectrum Analysis, Raman; D014857:Warfare
chemical_list: D017610:Calcium Compounds; D010087:Oxides; C016538:lime
keywords: Raman spectroscopy; Spanish Civil War; forensic archaeology; forensic science; identification; lime; mass grave