The Role of 14 C Dating in the Identification of Missing Persons in Cyprus

Bibliographic Data

ID9245205
AuthorsGianluca Quarta (0000-0002-3648-1411), Theodora Eleftheriou, Istenc Engin, Lucio Maruccio, Marisa D’elia, Lucio Calcagnile (0000-0001-8800-218X)
Year2024
Volume66
Issue5
Pages1429-1439
Publication date2024-10-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueRadiocarbon (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0033-8222 • E-ISSN: 1945-5755
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/rdc.2023.104
OpenAlexW4389572097
LanguageEN
References cited28

The Committee on Missing Persons in Cyprus (CMP) is a bicommunal committee with the mandate to locate and identify the skeletal remains of 2002 persons who were reported missing during the inter-communal fighting of 1963–64, as well as the events of July and August 1974. During the periods of conflict, several archaeological sites and old cemeteries were used as primary burial sites, among several other types of burials, as they were easily accessed by the persons involved in the interment and little effort was needed to conceal the bodies. The relatively large post-mortem interval and the generally poor post-mortem preservation of the skeletal remains poses an additional challenge in the forensic examination process and the identification of the remains, particularly in the absence of a context or other associated artifacts/evidence. Between 2016 and 2020, the CMP has been collaborating with CEDAD to clarify the relevancy of several cases by using radiocarbon dating. The CMP submitted 139 cases to CEDAD out of which 112 were determined as not linked to the 1963–64 and 1974 events and then not relevant for the CMP project. For the remaining samples radiocarbon dating was used to determine death age

Archaeology · Biology · Mandate · Political science · Radiocarbon dating · Archaeological Research and Protection · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Archaeology and Historical Studies · History · Law

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