Abstract:
Between 23 and 25 November 1975, four South African soldiers died
during military involvement (Operation Savannah) in Angola. The
events took place near Ebo, in central Angola. At the time, it was
impossible for the SAforces to recover the bodies, and the exact location
of the graves remained uncertain. Three individuals died when their
reconnaissance aircraft was shot down, while the fourth died in an
ambush of an armoured car. The aim of this paper is to report on the
excavation and repatriation of the remains, illustrating the value of the
application of sound forensic archaeological techniques to reconstruct
events. The gravesite of three individuals was pointed out by members
of the local community and was marked by wreckage on the surface.
Severely burned skeletal remains and fragments of the aircraft were
excavated at shallow depth. It was clear that these individuals were not
formally buried and apparently pieces of wreckage and human remains
were dragged into the burial pit. The victims most probably died on
impact. The excavation was complex but with careful investigation,
three different individuals could be distinguished. Samples were taken
for DNA analysis, although extraction was unsuccessful. Despite
information from a number of individuals and several test pits, the
grave of the fourth individual who had died separately in the armoured
car ambush could not be found. The remains of the Ebo individuals
were returned to South Africa and placed in theWall of Remembrance
at the Voortrekker Monument in Pretoria, thus bringing closure for
their relatives.
