Forensic archaeology unearths forgotten genocide

Namibia’s forgotten genocide is being unearthed through forensic archaeology, reports The Conversation. The Namibian genocide was one of the first genocides of the 20th century. Between 1904 and 1908, tens of thousands of Ovaherero and Nama people were killed under German colonial rule. Despite the scale of these events, the material and human legacy of this genocide remains less understood than later atrocities. Historical accounts exist, but are often incomplete or shaped by the perspectives and priorities of the colonial period in which they were produced. The landscapes of Namibia that testify to this violence still survive, but are under increasing pressure from urban expansion, infrastructure development and environmental change. Now, archaeological research is playing a key role in documenting and protecting this heritage. The Centre of Archaeology at the University of Huddersfield has, in conjunction with community representatives, the research groups Forensic Architecture and Forensis and the Swakopmund Genocide Museum, conducted fieldwork in Namibia across two seasons (2023 and 2025). The work has focused on sites linked to German colonial concentration camps in Swakopmund and Lüderitz.

Using forensic methods, the project seeks to locate, document and protect burial sites associated with the genocide. The research combines archival study with field methods including: GIS mapping (computer-based spatial mapping and analysis of archaeological data), walkover survey (systematic on-the-ground inspection of visible archaeological features), Ground Penetrating Radar (a geophysical technique that uses radar waves to detect buried structures without excavation), GPS survey, drone imagery and targeted excavation. Crucially, it involves close collaboration with Ovaherero and Nama communities, according to The Conversation. Their priorities have shaped the research and discussions around site protection. Between 1905 and 1907, German colonial authorities established several concentration camps in Lüderitz, including the notorious Shark Island camp. Ovaherero and Nama prisoners were forced into slave labour to build railway lines and an extension to the harbour under the harshest of conditions. Historical sources suggest that as many as 4 000 prisoners died at Shark Island, yet the final resting places of most victims remain uncertain. Written records and oral histories indicate that many bodies were never formally buried. Instead, they were disposed of in the Atlantic Ocean.

Full report in The Conversation