Forensic Archaeology in Denmark: A Work in Progress

Abstract

There has been formalised collaboration between the Danish National Police and Moesgaard Museum since 2010. While this relationship was initially characterised by happenstance, through personal contacts and close dialogue, it has since undergone progressive development. The cooperation relates to actual criminal investigations but, to an equal degree, also encompasses knowledge sharing through excavation courses and lectures, so that both police and archaeologists are professionally better equipped and qualified in relation to these cases. This close working arrangement is under continual refinement, both professionally and methodologically, and has since 2015 acquired an international aspect in the form of cooperation under the auspices of the European Network of Forensic Science Institutes (ENFSI). A brief account is given here of the Danish museum and police organisations, forensic archaeology and crime statistics in Denmark and the practical nature of the cooperation between archaeologists and the police. The article concludes with a presentation of a number of cases that shed light on various tangible aspects of the collaboration and an assessment of what the future holds.