Dead Body
Professor Sue Black has been dubbed the ‘corpse whisperer’ for her role in deciphering the messages hidden within a dead body. In lecture one she is joined by Silent Witness’ Emilia Fox, to reveal the secrets of forensic science.
Sue will reveal how the stories of our lives are hidden in the very fabric of our bodies by examining an archaeological skeleton, using techniques she uses in modern day forensic investigations. She will gradually build up its identity until this pile of old bones once again because a real person. She will explain how extraordinary clues in our bones can reveal everything from our age and our sex to our diets and our ancestry- there’s even a gone in our ear that can reveal where our mother lived while she was pregnant.
Professor Black’s investigations into the trauma marks visible in the 1000 year old skeleton’s bones reveal where this person died, and how they died. In the process she will tell this individual’s extraordinary life story – and shed light onto one of the darkest days in English history.