What needs to be clarified
Assess the direction-of-travel conclusion using the whole trackway, comparing impression positions, turning and overlaps without automatically treating toe orientation as the direction of movement through the room.
Materials to prepare
- Original scaled photographs of the entire trackway and individual impressions
- Room plan with landmarks, numbered impressions and the doorway
- Report and diagram, plus surviving casts or lifted impressions
What to compare
Restore the positions of all documented impressions, assigning left and right only when features support it. Compare heel and toe positions, intervals, turns and overlaps. Examine forward travel, backward movement and turning as testable alternatives; explicitly distinguish gaps and surface distortion from observed elements of the sequence.
Possible outcome of the analysis
Possible results include a diagram of compatible movement alternatives and an assessment of the original conclusion; incomplete tracks may leave the direction of some sections unresolved in the final account.
Limits of the conclusions
Impressions do not identify a person or their intentions. Shoe orientation need not equal movement direction; incomplete tracks cannot promise exact speed or a complete action sequence.