American School of Classical Studies investigating deviant burials at Faliro

In sociology, deviant behavior can be either malum in se, meaning wrong in itself, or malum prohibita, wrong because it is prohibited. The term deviant is also used to define the mystery of an ancient necropolis unearthed at the Phaleron (present-day Faliro) Delta, where classical archaeology has called on the help of CSI-style archaeologists from the Malcolm H. Wiener Laboratory for Archaeological Science at the American School of Classical Studies in Athens (ASCSA) to examine groups of deviant graves, known by the scientists as the D graves, and mass burials of minors.

"This is our biggest and most important project," says laboratory director and geoarchaeologist Dr Panagiotis Karkanas as he shows us around the new facilities created thanks to a donation by philhellene Malcolm H. Wiener.

The two-story building, inaugurated a few months ago, is equipped with seven...