Burial interval
Definition
The elapsed time between placement of the body in the ground and the time of recovery. Distinct from the post-mortem interval (time since death), since there may be a gap between death and burial. Both are of forensic interest, for different reasons.
- Measures
- Time from burial to recovery of remains
- Estimated by
- Forensic botanists analyzing plant and root growth
- Precision
- Minimum estimate, not an exact date
Common questions
What's the difference between burial interval and post-mortem interval?+
Burial interval is the time from when a body is placed in the ground to when it's recovered. Post-mortem interval is the time from death to recovery. There may be a gap between death and burial, so the two intervals measure different things and serve different investigative purposes.
How do forensic botanists estimate how long a body has been buried?+
They observe plant growth around and in the grave, particularly root growth. This gives them a minimum estimate of the burial interval based on what they can measure, but they typically cannot pinpoint an exact date.
Can we ever know the exact burial interval?+
No. Forensic botanists provide minimum estimates based on observable plant growth patterns. The actual burial interval could be longer, but the botanical evidence gives investigators a lower boundary.
Related terms
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- The sum of daily mean temperatures above a threshold (usually 0 °C) over a period of interest. Used as a measure of...
- Annual growth ring
- A layer of secondary xylem produced during one growing season, visible in cross-section as alternating early-wood (large-celled, pale) and late-wood (dense, dark)...
- Minimum date evidence
- Artefacts (coins, currency notes, dated packaging, mobile phones) recovered from a burial whose manufacture date establishes that burial cannot have occurred before...
- PFIDAC
- Post-mortem Forensic Index of Decomposition and Alteration in Context: a UK-developed scoring protocol that standardises the description of decomposition stages in buried...
- Pollen stratigraphy
- The analysis of pollen assemblages at different depth horizons within the grave fill to establish a seasonal or annual chronology. A pollen...
- Rhizotrophism
- The directional growth of roots toward zones of higher nutrient concentration, including the nitrogen- and phosphorus-rich environment created by decomposing organic matter...
- Root encasement
- The process by which expanding roots physically surround or compress bones over successive growing seasons, leaving an impression of the bone surface...
- Root-tip injury dating
- Technique in which growth rings distal to a root-tip scar or redirection point are counted to estimate the number of growing seasons...
- Soil temperature logging
- Placement of calibrated temperature dataloggers at the grave depth during excavation, allowing the actual thermal history of the burial environment to be...
Explained in these topics
- Burial Interval EstimationThe elapsed time between placement of the body in the ground and the time of recovery. Distinct from the post-mortem interval (time since death), since there m...
- Root Growth and Grave DatingThe elapsed time between deposition of remains in the ground and their discovery. Forensic botanists typically provide a minimum estimate based on observable p...