2026 Undergraduate Research Showcase

Forensic Geoscience Hub: Clandestine Graves and Unmarked Burials

Document Type

Student Presentation

Presentation Date

4-24-2026

Faculty Sponsor

Dr. Andrew Gase

Abstract

The Forensic Geoscience Hub, ForGe, is a new program at Boise State University with the aim to provide students with hands-on experience in the fields of forensic and archaeological geoscience. Through collaborations with local law enforcement, historic sites, and archaeologists, students use ground penetrating radar (GPR) and other geophysics methods to perform non-invasive geophysical surveys looking for clandestine graves and unmarked burials sites. In the early stages of the program, we have focused on developing standardized practices and procedures for surveys as well as making connections within the Treasure Valley community to perform “simulated” surveys. Collaborations have been made with the Old Idaho State Penitentiary Historic Site as well as with the College of Western Idaho with more collaborations to come. In this abstract, we present ground-penetrating radar case studies of two historic cemeteries in Boise and Nampa, Idaho. Results are mixed and most likely depend on soil properties and burial conditions. At the Old Idaho Penitentiary Historic Inmate Cemetery, no clear burial reflectors are observed. At the Antioch Cemetery in Nampa, grave shaped amplitude anomalies are suspected burials, though fewer observed than the expected number of graves within the cemetery. Our results show both the limitations and potential of GPR methods for forensic investigations in Idaho.

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