Scene Manager
Definition
The role a forensic archaeologist often takes in the field: responsible for the physical recovery strategy, the recording system, and the integrity of the site as an evidence source. Distinct from the role of analyst or expert witness, though the same person may occupy both at different stages.
- Field
- Forensic archaeology
- Responsibilities
- Recovery strategy, recording system, site integrity
- Distinct from
- Analyst or expert witness role
- Overlap
- One person may hold both roles at different stages
Common questions
Why separate scene manager from expert witness at all?+
Keeping recovery decisions and later courtroom interpretation conceptually distinct helps preserve objectivity, since the person directing excavation choices in the field is making practical calls under time pressure, while the expert witness role involves interpreting the resulting evidence for a court.
What happens if a scene lacks a designated scene manager?+
Recovery can become uncoordinated, with inconsistent recording or accidental loss of context between finds, which is why forensic archaeology protocols call for naming this role explicitly before excavation begins.
Related terms
- AGSA
- The Archaeology and Forensic Science group, a specialist network within the Chartered Institute for Archaeologists (CIfA), which has developed standards for casework,...
- EAAF
- The Equipo Argentino de Antropologia Forense (Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team), founded in 1984 to investigate disappearances during the military dictatorship. Widely regarded...
- Forensic Anthropology
- The laboratory and scene-side discipline concerned with the analysis of skeletal and decomposed remains to establish biological profile, manner of death, trauma,...
- Forensic Archaeology
- The application of archaeological field methods, including systematic search, controlled excavation, and single-context recording, to scenes that have a legal significance, whether...
- International Criminal Tribunal
- A judicial body established under international law to prosecute serious violations of international humanitarian law. The ICTY (1993) and the ICC (2002)...