10th May 2005, 11:48 AM
Well to put my two pennyworth in.
I've had the same experiences as sniper, in that most bones tend to have the same degree of preservation, regardless of soil conditions. In fact in some areas, where the soil is known to be very acidic (or "agressive" as one specialist put it)the bone preservation has been surprisingly good.
Another explanation might be that some infant burials were not buried very deeply and tend to get shovelled/machined away easily.
I've had the same experiences as sniper, in that most bones tend to have the same degree of preservation, regardless of soil conditions. In fact in some areas, where the soil is known to be very acidic (or "agressive" as one specialist put it)the bone preservation has been surprisingly good.
Another explanation might be that some infant burials were not buried very deeply and tend to get shovelled/machined away easily.