Karl Harrison
Visiting Fellow
I am a forensic archaeologist who has spent much of the past twenty years engaged in casework in both the UK and internationally. Much of this casework focuses on police searches for missing persons presumed subject to clandestine disposal, but it also includes the management of complex forensic strategies for major crimes and mass fatality incidents.
My research encompasses both forensic science and archaeology. I am particularly interested in international diversity in the establishment of forensic solutions, the growth of forensic science as a global industry and the origins of forensic investigation.
My archaeological research focuses on the adaptation of techniques drawn from forensic fire investigation to improve understanding of burnt structures preserved in the archaeological record. I have worked on the sites of Çatalhöyük, West Stow and Must Farm.
Selected publications
Mahoney P, Carr D et al. (2018) Forensic reconstruction of two military combat related shooting incidents using an anatomically correct synthetic skull with a surrogate skin/soft tissue layer. Int J Legal Med. 2018 Mar 7. doi: 10.1007/s00414-018-1802-z. [Epub ahead of print]
Harrison K, Cline E. Case studies on taphonomic variation between cemetery burials. In Schotsmans, E., Marquez-Grant, N. & Forbes, S. (Eds) (2017) Taphonomy of Human Remains. Wiley.
Cowper EJ, Mahoney P et al (2106). A pilot study examining garment severance damage caused by a trained sharp-weapon user. Textile Research Journal, 87, 11, 1287-1296.
Harrison K, Simmons T. Forensic archaeology & anthropology. In White P (Ed.) (2016). Crime Scene to Court. Royal Society of Chemistry.
Mackinnon G, Harrison K. Forensic archaeology and anthropology in a UK context: Developments of the past five years. In Blau S & Ubelaker D. (Eds) (2016) Handbook of Forensic Anthropology and Archaeology. Left Coast Press.
Gulhan O, Harrison K, Kiris A. (2015). A new computer-tomography-based method of sex estimation: Development of Turkish population-specific standards. Forensic Sci Int. 2015 Oct;255:2-8. doi: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2015.07.015. Epub 2015 Jul 17.
Abdul-Karim N, Morgan R et al (2013). The spatial distribution of post-blast RDX residue: forensic implications. J Forensic Sci. 2013 Mar;58(2):365-71. doi: 10.1111/1556-4029.12045. Epub 2012 Dec 27.
Harrison K, Martin V, Webster B. (2013). 'Structural Fires’ In Hodder, I. (Ed.) Substantive technologies at Çatalhöyük: Reports from the 2000-2008 seasons: Çatal Research Project Vol. 9. British Institute at Ankara.
Mitchell JL, Carr D et al (2012). Physical and mechanical degradation of shirting fabrics in burial conditions. Forensic Sci Int. 2012 Oct 10;222(1-3):94-101. doi: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2012.05.005. Epub 2012 Jun 5.
Harrison, K (2013) The application of forensic fire investigation techniques in the archaeological record. Journal of Archaeological Science, 40, 2, 955-959.
Harrison K. Application of fire investigation techniques (2012) In Tipper J. (Ed.) Experimental archaeology and fire: the investigation of a burnt reconstruction at West Stow Anglo-Saxon village. East Anglian Archaeology 146.