Disturbing the dead
Slavery in America has traditionally been viewed as a peculiarly Southern phenomenon, brought to an end by the victorious Northern states after the Civil War. In 1991, in downtown Manhattan, an 18th century burial ground containing the remains of hundreds of African slaves was uncovered during excavations for a new office block. The first body turned up in June 1991. Others surfaced in September. The count totaled 13 by early October, as excavation for a 34 storey federal office building in New York's lower Manhattan inadvertently unearthed the remains more than twenty feet below ground level. Forensic examination identified five of the 13 as the remains of men, one as those of a woman, four as those of adults of undetermined gender, two as those of children, and one as those of an infant.
Indications suggested bodies stacked at least three or four deep.
The remains all appeared to have been buried in coffins. The hexagonal shape of most of the burial boxes remained clear, imprinted in the soil as the wood rotted. Coffin nails, shroud pins, and fragments of shrouds lay with the skeletons. Cobblestones outlined several graves. Headstones marked some, footstones others. None remained legible. Other artifacts also appeared. Four gilded brass buttons with the Royal British Marines' anchor-and-cable insignia lay with the skeleton of one of the men.
The burial site By December 1991 the problem facing the federal General Services Administration (GSA) who were supervising the site had grown as further excavation revealed a larger find. Indications suggested bodies stacked at least three or four deep. 93 skeletons had been identified, and at least another seventy bodies were close by.The Negro Burial Ground
Map of early New York © Almost all of the skeletons proved to be African-American. Many disclosed hard evidence of a relatively short life expectancy for blacks in early New York. The early group contained a large proportion of infants and children. More than half the group never reached adulthood. There were 27 infants, many younger than six months. They lay in coffins 12 to 18 inches long. Most of the 34 adults - 20 men and 14 women - died in their 30s. Many suffered arthritis, rickets, syphilis or tuberculosis. Their dental profiles matched those of 90 year-olds.
Historical documents marked the site unmistakably.
The findings proved to be part of a cemetery operated from about 1710 to 1790 under the name 'Negros Burial Ground'. In the end, construction at the federal building site unearthed over 400 skeletons. Historical documents marked the site unmistakably. An extant 1755 map known as the Maerschalck Plan showed the site clearly. It lay at what during the 1700s was New York City's north western edge. Back then the city occupied little more than the southern tip of Manhattan Island, stretching up to where the present city hall sits.
Most of the adults died in their 30s © The burial ground itself was identified as extending from the building site on Broadway, southward under New York's City Hall, and reaching almost to the site of the World Trade Centre on Manhattan's southwestern tip, close to the financial centre at Wall Street.
Slavery in America has traditionally been viewed as a peculiarly Southern phenomenon, brought to an end by the victorious Northern states after the Civil War. In 1991, in downtown Manhattan, an 18th century burial ground containing the remains of hundreds of African slaves was uncovered during excavations for a new office block. The first body turned up in June 1991. Others surfaced in September. The count totaled 13 by early October, as excavation for a 34 storey federal office building in New York's lower Manhattan inadvertently unearthed the remains more than twenty feet below ground level. Forensic examination identified five of the 13 as the remains of men, one as those of a woman, four as those of adults of undetermined gender, two as those of children, and one as those of an infant.
Indications suggested bodies stacked at least three or four deep.
The remains all appeared to have been buried in coffins. The hexagonal shape of most of the burial boxes remained clear, imprinted in the soil as the wood rotted. Coffin nails, shroud pins, and fragments of shrouds lay with the skeletons. Cobblestones outlined several graves. Headstones marked some, footstones others. None remained legible. Other artifacts also appeared. Four gilded brass buttons with the Royal British Marines' anchor-and-cable insignia lay with the skeleton of one of the men.
The burial site By December 1991 the problem facing the federal General Services Administration (GSA) who were supervising the site had grown as further excavation revealed a larger find. Indications suggested bodies stacked at least three or four deep. 93 skeletons had been identified, and at least another seventy bodies were close by.The Negro Burial Ground
Map of early New York © Almost all of the skeletons proved to be African-American. Many disclosed hard evidence of a relatively short life expectancy for blacks in early New York. The early group contained a large proportion of infants and children. More than half the group never reached adulthood. There were 27 infants, many younger than six months. They lay in coffins 12 to 18 inches long. Most of the 34 adults - 20 men and 14 women - died in their 30s. Many suffered arthritis, rickets, syphilis or tuberculosis. Their dental profiles matched those of 90 year-olds.
Historical documents marked the site unmistakably.
The findings proved to be part of a cemetery operated from about 1710 to 1790 under the name 'Negros Burial Ground'. In the end, construction at the federal building site unearthed over 400 skeletons. Historical documents marked the site unmistakably. An extant 1755 map known as the Maerschalck Plan showed the site clearly. It lay at what during the 1700s was New York City's north western edge. Back then the city occupied little more than the southern tip of Manhattan Island, stretching up to where the present city hall sits.
Most of the adults died in their 30s © The burial ground itself was identified as extending from the building site on Broadway, southward under New York's City Hall, and reaching almost to the site of the World Trade Centre on Manhattan's southwestern tip, close to the financial centre at Wall Street.