242. Expose the remains using a soft brush or whisk broom (or other implement appropriate for the soil type). The remains may be fragile, and the interrelationships between elements are important and may be easily disrupted if not handled carefully. Damage can seriously reduce the amount of information available for analysis. 243. Photograph and map the remains in situ. All photographs should include an identification number, the date, a scale and an indication of magnetic north (a) First photograph the entire burial, then focus on significant details so that their relation to the whole can be easily visualized (b) Anything that seems unusual or remarkable should be photographed at close range. Careful attention should be given to evidence of trauma or pathological change, either recent or healed (c) Photograph and map all associated materials (e.g. clothes, hair, coffin, artefacts, bullets, casings). The map should include a rough sketch of the skeleton and of any associated materials. 244. Before displacing anything, measure the remains: (a) Measure the total length of the remains and record their position in the grave (b) If the skeleton is so fragile that it may break when lifted, measure as much as possible before removing it from the ground. 245. When exhuming skeletal remains, the only way to ensure the recovery of complete and individual bodies is the to remove its skeletal elements according to the anatomical articulation of the skeleton in the grave. 246. When recovering skeletal remains, the general principle is that bones should not be separated from clothing until the remains are in the more controlled conditions of a laboratory. The remains should be recovered taking all due care to minimize the loss of evidence, such as firearm discharge residue. Where skeletal remains are clothed, they should be removed using the clothing as containers (i.e. the trousers containing the legs and pelvis, the upper garments containing the chest and arms). Bearing in mind the possibility of commingling, each individual set of remains (bones, clothing and associated evidence) needs to be appropriately packaged and labelled (e.g. in a cardboard box, in the case of completely skeletonized remains) for transport to the laboratory. 247. Special attention must be given to commingled bodies. It might not be possible to exhume complete bodies at one time if they are intertwined. In such cases, it is important to follow the anatomical articulation of the remains. Either partially remove them (in cases of skeletal remains), or move the remains and free them from each other in order to recover a complete set. This needs to be carefully documented to ensure that the remains are recovered whole and as individual bodies. 248. Special attention must be paid to the exhumation, labelling and packaging of each individual set of remains in order to ensure that no mixing of individual bodies or body parts, their clothing or any associated evidence occurs. 249. Excavate and screen the level of soil immediately under the burial. Document and recover, as per the recovery strategy, any “finds” within the soil. A level of “sterile” (artefact-free) soil should be located before ceasing excavation. 37