18th century graveyard found at former Caribbean plantation

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

An 18th century burial ground has been discovered at a former sugar plantation on the Dutch Caribbean island of St. Eustatius, officials said Monday, and archaeologists said it likely contains the remains of slaves and could provide a trove of information on the lives as enslaved people.

Government officials said 48 skeletons had been found at the site so far, most of them males, but also some females and infants.

Alexandre Hinton, the director of the St. Eustatius Center for Archaeological Research, said many more remains were expected to lie in the graves at the former Golden Rock Plantation.

“We are predicting that the number of individuals buried here will surpass the burial site discovered at Newton Plantation on Barbados, where 104 enslaved Africans were excavated. This is one of the largest sites of its kind ever discovered in the Caribbean,” she said.



Archaeologists excavate in the former Golden Rock plantation west of the international Airport in Oranjestad, on the Dutch Caribbean island of St. Eustatius, on the Leeward Islands, Thursday, May 27, 2021. Government officials said that 48 skeletons had been found at the site of an 18th century burial ground so far, most of them males, but also some females and infants, and that it could provide a trove of information on their lives. (AP Photo/Dick Drayer)


Read more: https://apnews.com/article/europe-caribbean-science-b74a3312d5e196ee3123bc1b50ea0e7c

[Chainfire]

1. Some folks would take offense to the digging up of their ancestors.

The question become exactly how old does a grave need to before it is not desecration? Should we dig up granny to discover how she lived?

Personally, it wouldn't bother me, but I am not worried about resurrection. If it were up to me, I would bulldoze all of the prime land in the big cities that is tied up with the dust and bone of the long dead, to create something of value for the living. We could salvage all of that granite and marble to build breakwaters to protect our cities from flooding. A win-win.

[muriel_volestrangler]

2. However, most people prefer marked graves

so these newly-found graves are not something that anyone can (yet) describe as their ancestors. The excavation work would be needed to say who the buried were.

[bluedigger]

3. This photo really irks me.

I helped exhume a cemetery in New Jersey years ago. Such work is sometimes necessary, but should never be undertaken without respect for the dead. All our excavation was done under portable shelters to conceal the remains from casual observation. No photos were allowed of the the actual recovery process, and the remains were removed under cover, and never allowed to be photographed by the press. Recordation photos were taken, but not distributed. There are reasons you rarely see such working photos, as even archaeologists have some ethical restraint. Mr. Hinton needs a good talking to.

[Marthe48]

4. Very good points

I like reading about archeology, but as someone posted above, I question how long should we wait before we disinter people?

And if we do disinter people, it should be respectfully.

In this case, is anyone waiting for DNA results? If I had relatives who had been sent to Dozier in Florida, or one of the residential schools in Canada, I'd want to know if any remains were my family.

And since they found the plantation, can they work through the midden and locate the living quarters before they work on the remains?