These skeletons are not complete and they are mixed up. “We have long bones from the legs and arms, and fragments of skulls. All the small bones like the knuckles are missing. This suggests to us that these remains were at some point sorted and reburied where the hobbyist put them. found. Given the number of femurs, we have at least six individuals.”
Dominique Bosquet is pleased to be able to work with amateur detectorists, especially this one, who meticulously noted the geographical coordinates of the discovery. “This is the first time that such a batch of bones has been brought to the attention of the public and that they can be subjected to a series of analyses”yet the archaeologist would prefer to find and dig up bones in a scientific setting.
Still make these old bones “talk”
“Many people no doubt in the vicinity of the site of the battle have the bones of the victims of Waterloo, which in a display case, which in a crate in the attic, which on a chimney. What we want is to find burials, either mass graves or individual graves, in their context, being excavated. It would allow us to tell a story, to say a whole series of things that we are not going to be able to say now.”
However, analyzes will be carried out to make these (at least) ten skeletons “speak”. “We can extract the DNA, which works in 30% of cases depending on the body” explique Bernard Wilkin. “For this, it will be necessary to destroy bone material. We can also transfer the DNA samples to French laboratories which have developed a technique to identify the ethnic group. Since the attacks in France, French labs can perform this technique which remains prohibited.”
It is also possible to analyze strontium isotopes on teeth or long bones. This technique makes it possible to determine a geographical origin. “As for the two skulls, we could have them reconstructed by modeling or scanning to obtain the presumed faces. It’s the DVI that does that.“
Lhe discoverers would like to give them a decent burial, on the site of the battle, or in a nearby place. Dominique Bosquet suggests an ossuary, for example in a municipal cemetery, where it would be possible to come and recover elements for possible additional analyses.