Reclaiming Memory of Those Unknown: An Archaeological Study of the African-American Cemetery at George Washington’s Mount Vernon

Summary

This paper discusses the ongoing archaeological survey of the African-American Cemetery at George Washington’s Mount Vernon. Ultimately, this project was designed to bring about a better understanding of this space on the plantation landscape and to honor those unknown who call this spot their final resting place. Through the use of this space, it is believed that a portion of Mount Vernon’s enslaved population was able to culturally resist their imposed social position through the reinforcement their human identities, as expressed in communal gatherings and the practice of funerary rites. This project seeks to rediscover the locations of these long-forgotten burial plots, and by extension reveal the organization, layout, demographic make-up, and boundaries of the site. With this information, we can begin to study the ways in which this spot of land was transformed by Mount Vernon’s enslaved population into a sacred place endowed with exclusive and nuanced meaning.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• "Spirits of the Dead": The Historical Archaeology of Cemeteries and Commemoration   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2016

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Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 717