The R.I.P. Myth: Why There Is Little Peace For Philadelphia’s Unmarked Historic Burial Places

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "“We the People”: Historical Cemetery Archaeology in Philadelphia" , at the 2022 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

Philadelphia has often been described as a city of cemeteries. Today there are more than 300 known burial sites spread throughout its borders – ranging from small family plots, to ancient churchyards, to large rural cemeteries. The vast majority of these exist as unmarked and redeveloped burial places that are increasingly vulnerable to impacts from new construction. Unfortunately, local government and city agencies regularly make little to no effort to protect and preserve these endangered sites. This presentation will provide an overview of Philadelphia’s long history of allowing its historic burial places to be repeatedly desecrated, examine the legal protections that do exist and have been used to protect these sites, and discuss efforts by archaeologists and preservationists to put an end to the needless loss of these important sites.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• “We the People”: Historical Cemetery Archaeology in Philadelphia   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2022

Keywords

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology